


Kernel Panic

by Foxflannel



Series: Galvanize [2]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Altered Mental States, Asthma, Blood Drinking, Blood and Violence, Body Horror, Doubt, Feral Behavior, Hypnotism, M/M, Memory Alteration, Memory Loss, Mental Disintegration, Mental Instability, Mind Control, Mind Control Aftermath & Recovery, Multi, Near Death Experiences, Out of Body Experiences, Panic Attacks, Split Personalities, Stalking, Trauma, fangs, murderous intent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-02
Updated: 2019-01-17
Packaged: 2019-07-23 15:40:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 30,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16161881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Foxflannel/pseuds/Foxflannel
Summary: When a strange device is found that causes androids to become murderous, Gavin and Nines are assigned the case.  However, things go from bad to worse when Nines is affected and is on the warpath.  Gavin is torn between solving the case and giving up Nines to get to the bottom of the device's true nature.  It's a race against time to protect the android he loves while trying to stay alive.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Part 2 is only gonna hurt. People are expecting a happy ending and...there is one. Sort of.
> 
> (Also, a Chuck E. Cheese's is an arcade/playground/eatery for American children that has animatronics that sing and dance on a stage. it's where FNAF was inspired from, so you can essentially see Gavin's fear).
> 
> As always, I'm @Foxflannel on Twitter, come yell at me about DBH.

“He's not gonna talk,” Gavin said, running his fingers down his face and sighing as he looked at the perp in front of him, visible from the two-way mirror. They had been at this for over three hours and the scruffy man in a denim jacket hadn't said anything useful. He had put up a fight at first, of course, spewing insults just as fast as Gavin could sling them and it had gotten nowhere. Nines had opted to speak to the perp and even he had come back empty handed. Gavin's eyes glanced at the tiny walkie-talkie found at the scene of the crime, the android clutching it desperately. The android had been allegedly yelling about the static coming from it and shaking their head to rid itself of the noise, but Gavin found no batteries or power switch. It was odd. Strange. Something nobody had seen before.

“Either he's fuckin' lying and hiding something,” Gavin said as he took a small sip of his energy drink. “Or he really has nothing better to do than fuck with us.”

“That is unwise,” Nines replied. “Surely he has a job or someplace to be. Why bother leading us nowhere when he could answer the question or direct us to someone who can?”

“He ain't a snitch if he does know somebody,” Gavin responded, leaning forward to rest his arms on his knees and steepling his fingers in front of his lips for a few moments before he started giggling.

“What, Gavin?” Nines asked, looking down at the man.

“I just thought of something that might work. Tough guys like these only put up a front. So, I'm thinking we have you scare the shit out of him.”

“That is...idiotic. But go on.”

“Oh, shut up, weren't you made for torture or something? Besides, we're not gonna hurt him, I just wanna watch him piss himself a little.”

“Will you clean said urine, Gavin, because I refuse to.”

“No, I...that's not what--” Gavin sighed. “OK, so here's the plan...”

 

 

 

“No.”

“Come on, it'll be funny!”

“I refuse.” Nines replied, even as they both stepped into the interrogation room. Gavin sat across from the perp, who replied in kind with a generous, shit-eating grin. Gavin placed the device on the table again and got comfortable.

“Look,” Gavin started. “All we need to know is if you know why that android went deviant and immediately killed its owner. You were friends with the guy, right? Don't you wanna see justice done?”

“Nope,” the guy replied. “He was a prick and I'm glad he's doneso.”

“Okay...” Gavin sighed and quickly glanced to Nines who had taken to sitting beside him. “Can you tell us anything about the android? Its model, name, any quirks it had? Do you know if it had beef with its owner?”  
“Nope,” the guy replied again. “And I don't care. All I know's the android's name was Devon. 'S far as I know, he was your typical android, came fresh from the factory and did the cookin' and cleanin'. Never argued with its owner.”

Nines simply blinked as Gavin looked over.

“Gotta say though, androids goin' 'round killin' folks is fuckin' great. Maybe this time, they'll get shut down fer good and we can go back to havin' actual shitty lives, eh?” the man stared right at Nines and laughed boisterously, the noise echoing crudely in the empty room.

“You hate androids, huh?” Gavin asked, voice level while his head cocked to the side, staring the man down with a smile. “I used to hate androids. Here's my good friend Nines, though. You met him, yeah?”

“Gavin-”

“See, Nines here is my friend. My _best_ friend, y'know? In fact, he's as loyal as they come, arentcha Nines?”

“Gavin, please, I--”

“Loyal to a T. Almost like a dog, really. He's real good at tracking down criminals and bringing them back to me.”

Gavin couldn't help but give a toothy grin as he side-eyed Nines and watched the android visibly sigh and shut its eyes, LED flickering, still blue but stuttering angrily.

“D'you like dogs, Arnold?” Gavin asked the perp, still grinning.

“I ain't afraid of the fuckin' K-9 unit, Detective. Used to fight pits back in the day.”

“Good, so you like dogs?” Gavin asked, grin widening. Nines visibly sighed beside him, eyebrows lowered.

“I'll humor ya, Detective. I fuckin' love dogs. Why?”

“Well, we don't have a K-9 unit currently, but we do have an RK-900 unit.”

“Detective, that was terrible,” came Nines' exasperated voice.

“Look, can I go? I ain't know what you want me to say, alright? I dunno anythin' about the fuckin' android, and even if I did, I ain't gonna talk to a shortstack and his dick-sucking vacuum cleaner.”

“Nines?”

“Detective, it is degrading.”

“Don't care. Only I get to talk to you that way. Show him how friendly you can be when people shit talk you.”

“But--”

“Now.”

Nines sighed and straightened up to a standing position, walking around the table and facing Arnold, who just glared up at him, fists clenched in the bindings around his wrists on the table.

“The fuck's this now?” Arnold asked, but he got his answer: Nines growled. A deep, animalistic sound. From his spot across the table, Gavin saw his throat work with the vibration and he simply crossed his arms with a smirk.

“Yeah, ok, whatever, that's--”Arnold started before he screamed. Nines canine-like teeth snapped an inch from his face, accompanied with a deep snarl. For good measure, Nines drained the white color from his eyes, the black underneath making the icy blue of his eyes all the more brighter—to the untrained eye. Gavin was crying from laughter, wiping the streaks from the edges of his cheeks as Arnold continued to scream, the glowing-eyed, dog-teethed android too much for him.

In the next five minutes, Arnold had to be comforted. In the five minutes after that, he pledged his case to Gavin and Nines truthfully and gave them the information they needed. Arnold had seen the device before but said it wasn't a walkie-talkie, claimed the android, Devon, had found it and kept it on his person. He'd talk to it and hide it from view but nobody ever heard it go off, nor did the thing have batteries to begin with.

The device was becoming frequent with android cases. Androids were turning suddenly against their owners or friends, a walkie-talkie found at the crime scene. There was a correlation; Gavin was sure of it. But even Nines couldn't decipher the importance of the machine and claimed it was useless. Perhaps a source of comfort, or perhaps a calling card. Cases were growing daily.

Gavin was flipping through the case file on his desk and glancing over at the paperwork when Nines' voice called. “Lieutenant?”

“Morning,” Hank's deep voice growled, stepping to the desk and glancing at the documents Gavin had. “God, another one?”

“Got a new one every day, Anderson.” Gavin said, running his hand through his hair and looking up at the large man. “Android going ballistic and killing someone, device left at the scene, android getting questioned and the morgues getting filled.”

“No new leads?” Hank asked, taking the folder and licking his thumb, idling through the papers with a lowered brow. Gavin raised his hands and dropped them to his lap with a loud slap.

“We've got witnesses, but nothing fucking solid. They all say the same shit. Android was a nice little robot, suddenly killed their owner or friend. No patterns. Some are even factory new.”

“What'd Kamski say about it?” Hank asked, voice lowered. Hank was probably the only one who knew their relations but kept quiet about it. Despite Gavin and Hank at each other's throats, Hank knew to keep a secret. Within the past year, they had steadily stopped hating each other and tolerated their presences—more or less. The quips and insults were around but they had grown to understand each other.

Back during the Red Ice raids, Hank was Gavin's hero. He looked up to him, cared about him, wanted to be like him. Hank coached him and even let him babysit Cole on a few occasions. In a drunken rage after Cole had passed, Gavin had wrestled a gun from Hank's hands, tried to talk him down from his stupor, ending up with Gavin getting pistol-whipped across the face and a broken nose, the scar still ugly and jagged to this day.

Hank had managed to apologize sometime last month finally, after a few drinks and a lot of arguing between the two. But it ended with some bitter tears from Gavin and some admittance from Hank explaining he had been harsh and couldn't find a way to say sorry. Since then, they cooled off and backed their fangs off from each other's throats.

“Nothing.” Gavin replied. He scrolled to read his messages and outside of some technological jargon, he found nothing of importance. “He said the androids we surrendered to him were all proper, nothing came back fucked up. Every part was working right, apparently he said even the memories and such were untouched. They just...went crazy.”

“Jesus.” Hank muttered closing the folder with a loud pinch.

“He's gonna keep doing work and see if he can find anything but...” Gavin shrugged, crossing his legs up onto his desk. “Who knows how long it'll take.”

“Well, it might be--”

“Reed! Office!” came Fowler's voice. Nines glanced up and gave Gavin a nod, watching him walk away as Hank took Gavin's chair and looked through his terminal for more evidence.

 

“Right now? And we're just waiting for this to go down?”

“We had to be sure. A call was made a few minutes ago confirming the spot, so I'm sending you and your partner to the scene to check it out. Get some Kevlar just in case; we're not sure what's going down or if anybody's still around.”

Gavin blinked rapidly. Kevlar? Fowler didn't often suggest bulletproof vests for his cops unless shit was serious. Fowler couldn't take any chances; even a gardener android could break a human's spine. The lack of direction Fowler was giving meant that they couldn't be sure the entire detail of the crime but it was enough to be laid out that they had to investigate regardless. Any indication that another android went ballistic was evidence enough that it had to be stopped.

“Okay...” Gavin left the room, nodded for Nines to follow him, and headed to the backrooms. He shuffled around for the vests, found his size, and slipped off his hoodie and shirt to slide it on.

“Bulletproof vests?” Nines asked, glancing at the material. His LED flickered, scanned. Gavin fiddled with a strap and tightened it considerably with a frown.

“Fowler says shit might be bad, can't take chances.”

“I am bulletproof.” Nines stated, almost offended. Gavin simply laughed, sliding his arms through his shirt's sleeves and peeking from the neck hole.

“Yeah, well, excuse me for not wanting you to get shot for me. Bullets aren't so bad.”

Nines reached forward and slipped Gavin's shirt up, prodding at a spot at the Kevlar. Beneath it was a circular scar from an old bullet wound. Nines had memorized the spot and sometimes took to running a fingertip along it. Gavin said it didn't hurt anymore, but the feeling was numb and itchy at the same time. Androids couldn't get scarred—not like humans could. Their wounds would seal up and the plastic and metal could be replaced if not. Only constantly sustained damaged was left unhealed. For a human, a simple scrapped knee could leave a lasting white mark. Fragile. Gavin was fragile. Nines quivered nervously at the thought. A single bullet he survived but once...what about a second one? Nines briefly recalled the old apartment where he shoved Gavin away, the bullet scraping his arm rather than piercing through his heart where it was originally aimed. That couldn't happen again. It was too close. Nines had to work harder to keep him safe...he had to.

“Quit it.” Gavin snapped, slapping his hand away and grinning, slipping his hoodie on and sliding down his shirt. He checked his bullets for his own gun before holstering it with the safety on and adjusting his sleeves.

“Alright, let's get a move on.” he said, tossing his keys to Nines, who caught them swiftly within the palm of his hand.

“After you.”

 

 

There's a natural nervousness that comes with the territory of knowing you're going to walk into danger, into your probable death. Gavin knows it well. The bitter tang of bile on the back of his tongue, the way his heart is hammering and a flush of adrenaline is clogging his very arteries with the absolute thickness of it. Blinking rapidly to bite back the darkness threatening to creep across his vision, spots as black a gun hole in his clothes.

He has his gun in his hand with steady hands (and shaking arms) and he's peering around a corner. Nines is beside him, unblinking, LED flashing and flickering, rotating and taking in the area. It's a warehouse that stopped being used sometimes around eight years ago, a place that became a pseudo-arcade of sorts for parties that also flopped and left to rot when nobody purchased the decrepit building.

Nines told him he heard feet shuffling and they stopped moving, primed behind a cracked wall with chipped red paint and checker patterning above it in black and white. Outside, cops and back-up were waiting at the ready in case the android fled. With limited information, it was hard to get a read on it. Gavin didn't know what he was even working with and the sweat that trickled down his neck and stinging his itchy back was a reminder that Kevlar isn't always gonna save his ass when shit goes south.

Nines turned his head and glanced at a wall, cocking his head slightly before scooting over silently to run his fingers along it and rub the digits against his thumb before sniffing.

Gavin made a motion to tap his temple. Android?

Nines nodded, gave him a peace sign. Two of them. Nines pointed downwards. Two males. Nines paused, glanced again at the wall and stood quietly to reach upwards, running his fingers along the wall again. He covered his LED with a hand and pointed down again with a fist. Human female. Gavin cocked his head but Nines shook his. She was still alive and if she was still here, she was deathly silent. Hidden away somewhere where Nines couldn't find her or on the verge of death.

“How do we wanna do this?” Gavin asked when Nines came closer. Nines narrowed his eyes and glanced at the open room from the safety of their hallway and frowned a little.

“Right there,” Nines pointed behind some big arcade cabinets and squinted, LED cycling. “There is one there. The other is over there.” Nines pointed further to the right on a stage with an old dusty curtain. Gavin couldn't see anything but he trusted his partner.

“The woman?” Gavin asked. Nines hesitated but shook his head.

“The blood was somewhat fresh but I am not finding traces of her currently. She may still be here but I cannot tell if so.”

“So we're going in blind?”

“To an extent. I can get the android behind the curtain, you get the one by the video game cabinets. I can see in the dark, you will be at a disadvantage.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. On three.”

Three, two, one. Gavin dropped his palm and Nines nodded, unholstering his own gun and walking swiftly towards the stage to take the stairs leading up the side. Gavin made his move towards the opposite side and walked along quietly adjacent to the games. Pac-man, Galaga, Touhou, Rampage, The House of the Dead, Street Fighter. God, what he wouldn't give to toss back a quarter and relive his childhood with his brother again.

Instead, he was creeping up on the creation his brother-turned-God had created with a loaded bullet etched with its model number. As he crept closer to the area lit conveniently with an old gas lamp, he could make out brief mumbling. Metallic, almost static laced. The android was holding a knife in its hand, placed against its head, shaking it like a wet dog.

Gavin crouched low next to the arcade machine at the end and glanced through the slot it left behind. The android was looking at something on the floor, stumbling and tripping over its own feet and tossing its head around like a fire alarm was going off. Panicking. From the light glinting off the knife, he could see it was splashed with blood, a gross, purple color. Either it was dark Thirium or it was stained from human and android alike. He chewed on his bottom lip and furrowed his brow.

Glancing towards the stage, he watched Nines slip behind the curtain, getting a startled shout from behind it. The android in front of him turned in fear from the sudden noise and Gavin reacted, tackling the machine to the ground and sending them sprawling along the floor with a groan.

The android was reaching for his face, clawing, trying to push him off, but Gavin was quicker, shoving the knife away and straddling the android in a smooth motion, gun aimed for its head. The android let out a scream and Gavin winced to the sound. It was grating. Metal chips scraping against a chalk board. It made his teeth itch and his gums burn from the sound. Unpleasant. The static was a constant screech now, a horrible synthesized noise that rattled him. He didn't think androids were capable of such a sound.

“Stop!” he shouted, readying his gun trained at the android's head. “You and your buddy are coming in for questioning. We got a couple questions to--”

The android threw its head forward, denting the barrel of the gun and crushing its forehead in one simple motion. The force knocked the gun back into Gavin's chest, cushioned only slightly by the Kevlar, making him groan in pain. The android took that time to reach for the knife and ready it until a gunshot rang out, the android's head slamming back onto the ground and stilling.

From the stage, Nines stood, gun barrel smoking, before he got brought down by another android, presumably the one he had taken care of. From the dim lighting, Gavin could make out the raw Thirium trickling from the smaller android's body. Nines rolled, untangled himself, and kicked the android from the stage, sending them into a grotesque sprawl. It was then Gavin noticed the weak limbs, an arm completely detached save for a few wires. Nines took disarm seriously, he thought with a grimace.

He made his way to his feet and ran over to the android trying desperately to crawl to its feet, the same static-screech emanating from its throat.

“Jesus Christ.” Gavin said, looking down at the crumpled heap of metal and wires. Nines climbed from the stage and looked at the android itself, watching its LED cycle rapidly between yellow and red constantly.

“There is...something wrong with them.” he managed, crouching down and holding the android's head with two fingers, steadying it as he watched. Gavin saw its eyes flick quickly to the left and right, and he frowned.

“This is a common occurrence in humans who have had a stroke.” Nines supplied. “Their motor functions are still working properly, but they are not acting as such. This android's arms and legs were locking up and the individual fingers and toes were twitching. Here,” he pointed to the chest where a hole was present. Between the metal 'ribcage', their Thirium pump was working but oddly. Imperfect. Stuttering, almost. Arrhythmic. “Their functions are active but not accordingly. Enough to remain alive, but...”

“What happened?” Gavin asked, and though it was to himself, Nines shrugged.

“I do not know. This is unheard of. I have recorded this exact moment and my fight with this android. Perhaps we can supply it to your brother and have him look at it?” he asked. Gavin just swallowed, watching the broken, detached arm claw and twitch.

“We should get both of the androids out of here and send them to him personally. Lemme call in the back-up.” he said. Nines nodded, walking to the other android he had shot. Gavin rubbed his arms to fight off the shakes but it did little to comfort him. Being trapped in a broken-down arcade with malfunctioning robots brought back too many Chuck E. Cheese memories and he refused to acknowledge the trauma that rat animatronic brought him.

Instead, he walked over to Nines, suddenly finding it unbearable to be alone, and hesitated as he walked to the light. Nines was checking over the android and scooping it up over his shoulder, Gavin stepping around him and moving towards the lamp before he reached for something on the floor.

“Nines.”

“Yes?”

Gavin lifted it up, waving the small, black walkie-talkie in his vision.

“Another one.”

 

 

The androids were escorted out on stretchers and bagged up, their corpses being driven to Cyberlife. There was no sign of the female human, who had most likely fled. Investigators were still there and doing their job to find her, Gavin and Nines being told to go home. Gavin had texted Elijah but once again, no answer, so he sighed and simply dusted off a cigarette on his porch and shivered in the cold of the winter. Nines had just made him dinner and was preparing the living room for 'something special'. He must have known Gavin was stressed and being the best little android he could be, he was making Gavin as comfortable as humanely possible. That gave him time to polish off a quick cigarette. He was trying to quit and had cut back to a pack every two weeks, but days like this drove him on edge and set his teeth itching.

Nines hated him smoking but allowed it for times like these, so long as he brushed his teeth and sucked on a mint or chewed gum afterwards. It didn't do much for him, to be honest, but with heightened senses, it was the least he could do. Exhaling another deep breath, he wiped off his hands and jacket for extra ashes before stepping inside and kicking off his shoes before pausing.

His living room had been rearranged slightly. The couch was now pushed over to the coffee table and blankets strewn over it and the couch to make a sloppy tent, tied tight with what looked like some string or rope. The blankets rustled and something moved underneath, the telltale flop of pillow on pillow and Nines poked his head out, hair slightly ruffled from the static.

“Is that a fucking pillow fort?” he asked. Nines blinked, looked backwards at his solid handiwork, then nodded.

“Yes. You mentioned watching movies with your brother this way once and I took that liberty to do this.”

“Nines, I dunno how to tell you this, but, I'm thirty six. A pillow fort is childish.”

Nines blinked and looked honest-to-god hurt. “Then...I will use it, and you can sit on the floor.” And with that, he ducked back inside and dramatically threw the blanket-door shut on his face. His thirty-thousand dollar android...shut his pillow fort blanket door...on his face. Gavin stood there positively dumbfounded.

“You fucker,” Gavin snarled, throwing himself into the entrance and promptly slamming his shoulder onto Nines' kneecap, flopping onto his stomach and groaning. Nines looked down with a small smile and pet Gavin's head.

“Thank you for joining me, but you refused to knock, and that is disrespectful.”

“Disrespect your _face_!” Gavin growled, slapping at Nines with a pillow which the android simply deflected with a gentle backhand.

“It has been a year and your insults lack bite, Detective.”

“Shut it.” he said, rolling to get comfortable on his android's lap. Nines huffed a small air and placed his fingertips in Gavin's hair, scratching his scalp delicately.

“You should shower soon. I will join you if you wish.”

“Yeah?” Gavin asked.

“Only a shower.” Nines said with a finger raised.

“Awful. You fucking suck, dude.” Gavin glowered. Nines laughed softly.

“Take a shower with me and then we can watch a movie.”

“Fine,” Gavin grumbled, slipping from the blanket fort and heading to the bathroom with his android in tow.

As promised, they showered together. Nines didn't need one, but the hot water felt good against his skin and he liked shampooing Gavin's hair, scratching at the scalp and listening to him purr and roll his head. It was therapeutic for them both and something they looked forward to.

Nines got out while Gavin did some manscaping and washed up and took to setting up the movie and making popcorn, idly sucking on a thirium packet as he did so. It was some 3D movie from Gavin's youth, something he quoted a lot and enjoyed and Nines figured it was a good choice for the time being. He peeled back the 'door' of the fort so they could watch, grabbing their pillows from the bedroom not a moment too soon; the squeak of the shower knob and the bang of pipes meant Gavin was done.

The microwave beeped and Nines got up to fumble for a bowl in the cupboards, Gavin stepping from the bathroom in a fog of hot steam, audibly sniffing.

“Popcorn?” he asked.

“Yes.” Nines replied, shaking the bowl and letting him hear the extra kernels for Gavin to suck on when he was done. Gavin grinned and moved towards the fort, flopping down loudly with a groan and watching the movie credits start. Nines handed him the bowl and slipped inside, slotting Gavin between his legs and idly petting his hair once more throughout the movie.

Despite everything, it was relaxing. Nines was smiling. In a few days, it would be their anniversary and he wondered what they would do. A nice dinner, maybe take Gavin to the laser tag arena that had sprung up in town, adults only. Maybe both. Nines blinked, tried to recall what humans did for anniversaries. A walk in the park, holding hands, laughing and smiling. No, that wasn't them.

“You okay?” Gavin asked, craning his neck. He must have asked him a question.

“Yes, I was...distracted.”

“By what?”

“The case.” he lied quickly. Gavin scowled and turned his attention back to the TV. That was the wrong answer, wasn't it? Nines opened his mouth to speak but Gavin had shimmied down and crossed his arms to sulk.

“I don't know what to do, Nines.” he replied quietly. On TV, one of the characters started a song and he tuned it out. “The androids going nuts. You guys just started getting freedom and then this happens. If even you, an android detective, can't find what's happening, what hope do we have?”

He crossed his legs and shrugged. “All I'm saying is, if we don't figure this out soon, who knows? It could start another revolution and I can't guarantee this one will be peaceful. If the androids are getting sick, Cyberlife'll be interrogated and the heat will go to my brother. I'm sure he's aware of it, but...he's not answering, as usual. So he's either working on it or...”

“Hiding.”

“Probably. He never made the androids for them to be used as weapons, but that's how people will see it. How they saw it during the revolution. And these fucking walkie-talkies...they've been at every crime scene so far involving androids. You sure you don't know anything about it?”

“No, there was nothing I could distinguish other than the fact that it was not a default device. It has been tampered with but the parts are relatively common.”

Gavin left the pillow fort and came back with one of the devices from the Arnold case, handing it to Nines. The android held it, turned it around, ran his thumb down it as Gavin turned to face him in the blanket fort. Nines pried his fingernails between the chinks in the side and separated them easily to reveal a hollowed-out plastic inside and some taped-up wires and screws on a motherboard.

Nines looked at the circuitry with a frown before shrugging.

“Gavin, I told you, I cannot find anything wrong with it. It cannot accept a frequency, so it cannot be used like a regular walkie-talkie. It has been modified but I fail to see how.”

“Alright,” Gavin said, taking it from him and closing it back up. “Thanks for trying, though. We'll figure this out.”

“Yes, in time.” Nines reassured, giving his shoulder a little squeeze and returning his attention to the TV.

 

 

Gavin tossed back the covers and laid down, stripped naked and sighing against the cold of the sheets. Nines undressed and tossed his clothes in the hamper which Gavin conveniently missed, lying beside him bare as well.

“C'mere,” Gavin whimpered, reaching for Nines, who cuddled up to him and got a satisfactory groan from his partner. Nines enjoyed the night time with Gavin. There were many activities in which they could engage in the bedroom, but his favorite part was stasis, waking next to Gavin or clutched in the man's strong arms. Gavin slept fitfully but somehow always managed to be on top of Nines in some dramatic form, whether with limp arms or bent legs.

Sometimes, Gavin had nightmares, moaning in fear, flinching, or staining his pillow with tears. Nines always asked him in the morning, but Gavin claimed he forgot. His heartbeat admitted he spoke the truth: he never knew he had these nightmares. They came somewhat frequently and Nines wondered if that's why Gavin was always tired-looking and ragged.

Nines took to gently rubbing his back while Gavin just held him. Occasionally, Gavin would blink, his eyelashes dusting across Nines' chest. Gavin wasn't able to sleep. Whenever a case was particularly stressful, he'd mull it over until he found no strength left and collapsed into a fitful sleep. Nines didn't want that, not when tomorrow would be endless mountains of paperwork and no evidence to shut the case closed.

As if feeling Nines' thoughts, Gavin sighed and rolled to his back to glare at the ceiling.

“There's gotta be some correlation, Nines.”

“I agree,” Nines replied. “But we are lacking the evidence and the device's true purpose. It is a pin with no string; we have no evidence, no actual proof of anything other than a coincidence.”

“It's not just a coincidence. I'm betting that device does something.”

“Like what?” Nines asked.

“I don't know. Like a microwave or something. It's gotta be scrambling them or acting like a tinfoil-covered WI-FI router. I know it's doing something. I doubt it's a fucking calling card.”

“Okay. But again, the device is normal. There is nothing wrong with it.”

Gavin sat up and reached for the device, flicking on his nightside lamp. He cracked open the device and looked at it himself, plucking at the wires and screws as if it'd help. Nines sat up and frowned.

“Gavin, it is late, you should sleep.”

“I will, I will. I just...” he sighed, dropping the walkie-talkie on the sheets. “Something's eating at me, Nines.”

“I can tell,” he replied, brushing his hair back with tired fingers. “We can figure it out in the morning, alright?”

“Yeah, fine.” Gavin said in defeat with a dramatic sigh, closing the walkie-talkie up and slamming it to the desk angrily. Nines stiffened instantly and clapped his hands over his ears. Gavin opened his mouth to apologize for the loudness when Nines' eyes screwed shut tightly, nose wrinkled in pain.

“Nines, I'm--”

“--off!”

“What?”

“Turn it off!” Nines yelled, louder than Gavin had ever heard him shout, as if he were trying to yell over loud music. Gavin looked at the walkie-talkie, set in the 'off' position and looked towards Nines with fear and confusion.

“It's...it's not on, Nines, it's--”

Nines' hands screwed tighter over his ears, eyebrows trembling from the force of his eyes being shut. He was whimpering, pained groans filling the room. Gavin got up and chucked the walkie-talkie against the wall as hard as he could, the device splintering from the cheap plastic and sending screws and chunks of black flying to his carpet. Instantly, Nines gasped, eyes shooting open, fingers trembling against his scalp.

“Nines, are you okay?!” Gavin asked, instantly at his side. Nines was trembling, eyes blown wide, Thirium welling at the corner of his eyes. Nines couldn't cry. What the fuck was going on? Nines wrapped his arms around himself and began to rock like a small child, the mattress groaning from the dipping and receding.

“Nines, hey!” Gavin said, wrapping his arms around his shoulders. From this angle, he saw the room glow red, Nines' LED flickering between it and yellow. Whatever the device did was rattling him to the core. Gavin was quiet for a long while, just holding his android who was rocking and staring blankly with wide eyes at the wall, Thirium tears running slowly down his cheeks. Nines was petrified. He had never seen the android so vulnerable before and was afraid FOR him.

Eventually, Nines' rocking subsided and he settled for a deep tremble that vibrated the headboard. Gavin sat beside him and held his hand, just watching his android compose itself. The LED was a constant yellow and eventually blipped back to blue. It wasn't until then that Nines spoke, voice croaking.

“I...apologize.” he managed weakly. Gavin just blinked, looking at him for a long time until Nines inhaled slowly and shakily. “That noise was shrill.”

“What noise? Nines, there was nothing.”

“What?” he asked, looking towards Gavin and then shattered device on the floor. “No...no there was noise, it was loud and screeched. I practically felt it in every component.”

“Nines...there was no sound.” Gavin said slowly. He was looking more and more concerned.

“But...” Nines swallowed rapidly, shaking his head to rid himself of the lingering sound. “There was?”

“Hey...we can figure this out in the morning, alright? We're both on edge. We need it. The motherboard or whatever probably found a signal that was shit.”

“Yes.” Nines nodded meekly and leaned slowly back onto the bed. “Yes, sleep will do us both some good.” he managed.

“Alright.” Gavin replied, giving Nines a final lookover before he laid down beside him and wrapped an arm over Nines' ribcage. It took a bit but the blue eventually dimmed to white and Nines was asleep, artificial breathing ended and body deathly still. Satisfied, Gavin got up to lay on his side when he felt movement from the bed and, looking over at Nines, he paused. Beside Nines' body was his right arm, pressed to his side.

Gavin hesitated, waving a hand in front of Nines who didn't respond. Gavin reached over and grabbed his hand, nearly dropping it in surprise. The fingers locked and unlocked, thumb twitching constantly, slowly. Androids didn't dream. Damn, Gavin thought, the machine really rattled him, didn't it? Sighing, he pressed his cheek to Nines' side and closed his eyes. Beneath his body, the mattress twitched from Nines' fingers clawing idly at the fabric.

 

 


	2. IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin and co. take a trip to Kamski's to see what he found, but the results aren't good, and neither are Gavin's dreams.

Three days had passed since the warehouse incident and the bodies were transferred to Cyberlife. Allegedly. In reality, the DPD had hired a truck to transport them to Kamski personally under a rule of discretion through unmarked armored trucks usually used for stakeouts. They needed answers without causing a scene, but with a new handful of cases every day, it was getting harder to remain under the radar. The public would find out eventually once the news outlets got their paws on it and chaos would ensue from that second on,

Gavin knew this, Hank knew this, the RKs knew this: hell, the entire force did. Once people discovered their androids had the potential to go crazy at the drop of a hat, there was no reason they wouldn't panic. Now that androids had human rights—were considered sentient—people would assume it a sort of virus, a thing that 'every android' had. Naturally, it would start another war.

Gavin had kept a close eye on Nines after the incident in the bedroom, but the twitching hand had subsided by the morning and he was acting normally. He was high-end after all; whatever it was, it probably wouldn't affect him. Gavin had asked him about it, but Nines had dug into his error logs and saw nothing, his subconscious in stasis registering he had never moved his hands in his sleep, followed by a lengthy, dull discussion of how androids couldn't dream regardless and that Gavin must have been seeing things.

He knew what he saw. It was what he heard that he didn't know.

“It was similar to...hm.” Nines stopped typing at his terminal and recalled the sound. “It was shrill. High pitched. I would say it is similar to a canine training whistle, except that it was strong enough to cause internal pain.”

“A fucking noise made your guts hurt?” Gavin asked, running a finger along the Styrofoam of his coffee cup. Nines nodded once.

“Possible. If you hear a sound you dislike, it makes your teeth hurt and you wince, correct?”

“Yeah, something like that.” Gavin replied.

“I think we--” Nines paused, LED whirling yellow before flickering. “I was just sent a message from your—from Mr. Kamski's Chloe model. She says we should head to a discreet location after work and to bring them.” He pointed towards Hank's desk where Connor was currently sitting unaware, Hank in the restroom.

“What? The fuck for?”

“I was given no instruction otherwise. Just that they need to come with us. I would imagine it has to do with the case.”

“M'kay, that explains Anderson, not really me or tin can over there.” he said, jabbing an accusing thumb at Connor, who turned around in time to catch it and pout a little.

“I would assume it is because he is an RK model detective as well as myself, and that you are his...” Nines shrugged it off. Gavin knew. “I wager he wants you to be there so you can be given the classified information as well. The Chloe model had said it was relatively urgent.”

“He fuckin' found something?” Gavin asked and leaned forward in his chair, rubbing his hands together. Nines shrugged again.

“I am unaware if so. I am sending the location to your phone. Lieutenant Anderson and Connor can follow us to the location when work is done.”

“Sure, that's...wait. How can you be sure it's his Chloe? He's got like..thirty of them. Could be a trap.”

“It is his specific Chloe, I have her wireless transfer number.”

“Yeah?” Gavin asked. A slight pang of jealousy in his chest. If Nines noticed, he said nothing, stoic as ever.

“Yes. When I went in for repairs, she was there and I was told to have her number in case of emergencies if we need Mr. Kamski's assistance with anything.”

“Oh, so he makes the time to fucking text YOU, but not me when I need it.”

“That number has been dead for years, Gavin.”

“WHAT?!”

Nines' lip quirked slightly at the corner. “I am jesting. His old cell number is attached to one of the older Chloe models. It is why she and he have not responded much; the signal is poor for her outdated software and Mr. Kamski refuses to update her machinery. Please consider getting his personal number for future endeavors.”

“How come you can't just give it to me? I know you know it.” Gavin scowled. Nines simply blinked, the quirk returning slowly to his lips.

“What?”

“He said...'I want to see him ask for it himself' and I will abide by that request of his.”

Gavin rolled his eyes, practically hearing his brother purr the words with his bemused grin, and scowled over the lip of his coffee cup with a mumbled barrage of select words and curses.

 

 

 

Hank sniffled and stepped up the steps of the immaculate house once again, looking up at it with a sort of blank disgust. Connor was beside him, LED a steady gold as he did the same. Gavin glanced at them both, having been briefed in the car. Hank suggested they take Gavin's vehicle since it was larger but had suggested he drive, much to the chagrin of the backseat driver beside him, telling him the shortcuts and where to go while Hank just drove the speed limit with a cocky grin, one arm on the wheel and the other outside the window. The androids simply sat in the back, buckled in and peering out the window. Connor's LED had flickered yellow enough for Hank to take notice and comment, leading to the android's recollection of the last time he was in this house.

_“He gave you that choice?” Gavin had asked. Connor nodded and placed in hands in his lap neatly. Gavin hummed, turning to look in the backseat. “What would you have done, Nines?”_

_His steely blue eyes blinked, LED flickering as he thought. “I would have taken the shot.”_

_Hank's eyes narrowed in the rearview mirror at the words, visibly clenching the wheel. “Just because you can't go deviant doesn't give you the chance to take away another life, an innocent one at that.” he spat. Nines nodded._

_“I agree. However, because there are several of the same model and his Chloe is particularly special, her memory databanks are already preserved. He could simply switch her data to a similar model and she would continue on as if nothing happened, with no recollection of the incident, and he would not have lost a life of someone he cares about.”_

_“You think just because an android can be 'backed up', it justifies letting them die for your amusement?” Hank growled. Nines sat up a little straighter, glanced to Connor, and then leaned forward. “You had no issues letting Connor die, Lieutenant. Please practice what you preach.” Hank gripped the wheel a little tighter and Gavin hid a shit-eating grin behind the sleeve of his burgundy hoodie._

Gavin walked up the front door and knocked, waiting with his ragtag group of three behind him. Hank was shuffling, Connor was nervously fumbling with a coin across his knuckles, and Nines was standing at attention with his arms behind his back, looking as impassive as ever. Gavin supposed this was no similar than a visit to a relative's house as well for the android and the thought made his stomach clamp up awfully.

Eventually, the door gave way to a Chloe model, the one Gavin knew as Elijah's personal one. He wasn't sure how he could tell; perhaps it was because he had seen her the most out of the other ones. Always smiling and beside him on television, always in interviews and examples for Cyberlife promotions back in the day before the fallout his brother had with the corporation. Maybe it was something else entirely, a sort of sixth sense to tell them apart, no matter how twin-like they all appeared to be.

Chloe was all smiles and polite attitude, as always, ushering them in with a gentle voice and even gentler motions. As always, again, they were dropped off in the guest room and the humans made for the two chairs, the androids walking around and looking. Connor was glancing at a crystalline statue that warped and moved as if water were within it. Nines made his way for the closest door and stopped just outside of it, pressing his fingertips to a small picture. Gavin knew the one: he didn't need his contacts in to see his brother, smiling, standing next to Amanda with perfect posture, the institution behind them both.

What was curious was how Nines was behaving. Fingertips lingered on the picture in such a way that Kamski was covered, only Amanda visible. Nines was standing completely still and staring, LED flickering a solid blue but flickering _fast_. Thinking. Thousands of thoughts flooding the android's mind. Connor must have noticed because Gavin blinked and the android was there, looking at the picture. No words were exchanged nor glances but their LEDS whirled various colors and speeds. They were speaking privately. Somehow, it infuriated Gavin and he opened his mouth to speak no sooner than a side door opened and Kamski, himself, stepped in. Unlike before, his hair was pinned up neatly, the scruff he had before cleanly shaven off in a familiar sight. Dressed in a simple black hoodie with the zipper open, a pale grey shirt beneath, jeans and flats.

“What did you find?” Gavin asked, no formalities. Hank looked at him quickly but he didn't have time to speak. Kamski shook his head a little bit before craning it to the door for them to follow and they did. Gavin recognized the hallway, the steps, the fishtanks—catching Nines and Connor both slowing their speeds somewhat to stare—until they made it to the door with a fingerprint scanner. A quick tap and the door opened, Kamski taking the lead into the room and followed by the four males.

Inside, he gestured to some chairs, simple metal fold-out chairs, and leaned against a table himself. To his right side was a large flat table and the remnants of an android on top of it, shackled down by those weird claw-hooks that once held Nines. The android was pretty mangled and Gavin recognized its dangling limbs as the one Nines had shot and shoved off the stage at the warehouse.

He looked around for the other android and found it: scrapped down to bare components, its chassis in smaller, slotted pieces like a grotesque puzzle. Thirium of various shades and colors littered the floor and tables and while a mop and bucket was present, the water inside was almost black. He had been working and cleaning constantly.

“What I am about to tell you is confidential at this time. You cannot tell a soul.” Kamski spoke, low and slow, his gaze almost flitting about nervously as opposed to its usual confident balance. He was nervous. Elijah Kamski was nervous. Gavin felt his stomach drop; the last time he saw him this nervous was when he applied for college at sixteen. When he was about to give his report on what he had created: blue blood. Thirium. The world as it was today.

“Shit,” Gavin chewed on his thumb nail. “That bad?” he asked just as quiet. Hank looked over in relative shock. Even though Kamski and Gavin hadn't spoken or hung out in years, Gavin could still read his brother like a well-worn book, not that him being openly nervous made it difficult to tell.

“Here,” he said, turning to the table with the mangled android and he let the RK models look into the cavity and prod around before Nines stood up and frowned, fingertips blue.

“Do you see the issue?” Kamski asked. There was a hesitance between the android brothers before they both shook their head. “Exactly. That's the issue. There...isn't anything wrong. At least, in the components there isn't. Everything is in place and exactly as it should be, outside of the damage done to the body. No, as far as things go, this android is built as it should be. No new software or components added or removed. It's...normal.”

“Bullshit,” Gavin snarled. “I saw them! We both did! They're not “normal”, they're acting all fucked up and--!”

“I know. I know...” Kamski slid his hands over his scalp softly and glanced back down at the body. “However, I did notice something strange with the software when I ran a diagnostic. There's a program that keeps coming up with errors. I tried to check the encryption, ran the program, did everything I could but found nothing. No backdoor, no error logs, no tracing files, viruses, wormholes...nothing. It's a complex program, whatever it is.”

“But if you're working on it, it shouldn't be an issue, right?” Hank asked, looking down at the body with a wrinkle in his nose. Kamski gave a small shrug and looked back down at the body, pushing something aside to get the paperwork he had made, handing it to Nines.

“Both of you, I want you to commit this to memory, it could be useful. It's everything I managed to discover in the bodies. It showed up in both of them, the same program with the same installation date.” The RK models nodded and glanced over the paperwork to scan it over and memorize it. “Also, there's one possibly major request for me to ask of you both. For the time being...do not interface, with anything or anybody.”

“May I ask why?” Nines asked. Connor's eyebrows dipped in a sort of concern.

“As far as I can tell, I don't know if this program can spread. A lot of malicious programs spread through androids, similarly to the deviancy. It's uncertain whether or not the program itself can be transferred and I'd rather not chance it with your model types. Being as advanced as they are, if anything happens to you—one of you or both—I cannot guarantee I can fix the problem. Even the more common androids are being affected and causing havoc and I simply cannot allow the state-of-the-art androids to fall to the same fate. It would be disastrous for the general population if they discover this information.”

“They didn't seem too thrilled when they started manufacturing 'government androids' way back in August of last year to begin with,” Hank said, throwing Connor an apologetic look.

“They weren't too keen on an android revolution, either,” Kamski responded dryly. “However, there's something else that has been nagging me. Look here,” he said, pointing back into the android's cavity and pulling out a small chip. It was no bigger than around 3 centimeters, a square-shaped piece of metal and plastic.

“It is the priority system.” Nines responded.

“Yes, but it's more than that. This little piece right here is what essentially triggers an android's decision making. If they're given an order, this little chip basically stores the command and sends it to the main neurological network. It is also responsible, in a sense, for the deviancy in androids. But there's more to it than that. Here.”

He moved to a small machine and slid the chip inside of a small port, the machine whirring to life and throwing up a bright blue hologram screen. On it was code, whirring by quickly and running to the top endlessly, a confused waterfall of data overflowing over the top of the screen. Nines peered at it carefully, Connor stepping closer with a hand to his chin, brown eyes narrowed and alight in a blue glow from the flickering screen.

“It's all code.” Connor said finally. “This code is familiar; it runs whenever we wake from stasis and is essentially a start-up sequence of sorts.”

“Correct. These lines of code were personally handwritten by myself and Professor Stern back in the day. The code has since changed and grown bulkier, more precise, but the gist is the same. However, the problem is also the code itself.” Kamski said, pointing to some lines here and there. He may as well have been teaching the android's exclusively. Gavin and Hank shared a confused, half-hearted shrug and went back to crossing their arms and looking at the screen and android cavity lying open on the table.

“See, programmers and coders have a certain...signature. It could be considered their 'style'. Something wholly unique and theirs. My unique signature is essentially all over the android coding. The problem with that is this,” he said, pointing to the code, the hologram screen pausing where his finger touched. “This...is not my signature. It's been tampered with.”

“So, what, someone's fucking with your bread and butter?” Gavin asked.

“To put it...garishly. Yes. The code's been tampered with.”

“So just...I dunno, copy and paste the fucker back to normal.” Gavin replied.

“It isn't that simple. This code essentially bricked the android. Think of it like...” Kamski sighed, running a hand over his forehead. “It's essentially a really aggressive pornographic pop-up you used to get back in the day. You close one and two more pop up in its place in an endless cycle.”

Hank coughed uncomfortably and shuffled a little in place. Gavin just scowled, recalling the time he had to cave and ask his half-brother to scrub his laptop in college. Twice. Both times entirely on accident and both times he _swore_ it was from totally safe websites...that may or may not have required a credit card. And an 18+ button to click. _Totally_ accidental.

“Regardless, it's a really aggressive systemic error that I'm unsure can be 'copy and pasted'. There's small pieces inside of the coding everywhere and the more I find and fix, the more the android behaves erratically. I am at a loss right now. I really am. I'll keep working on the code, as promised, but with my limited resources, there's little I can do and it's slow going.”

“What about Cyberlife?” Hank asked. Kamski just scoffed, shaking his head and peering back at the code frozen on the hologram. “They might need me for the code and the android blueprints, but they won't even sign the checks anymore. It all goes through a median, now. If I ask for help, it'll be all over the tabloids and it'll only speed up the fear and the concerns. I can't do that to you all, nor the androids that are safe, clean and unaware, and the people who are friends with them. I can't.”

“So, what, we just sit here with our thumbs up our asses until you can fix this shit? That could be months. It took you _years_ to make the android code to begin with and that was with Amanda doing majority of the donkey's load. We don't have that kind of time, Eli.” Gavin said while he walked towards the powered down android wide open on display in front of him and peered inside. “We're already up to our fucking ears in android-related murders and cases and all we're getting is fucking nothing but more paperwork, more dead humans, and androids on the run in a frenzy.”

“Mr. Kamski, with all due respect, I have witnessed something regarding the androids.” Nines spoke up, finally tearing himself away from the hologram screen long enough to face the man. “The device found at the crime scene was exactly as you, yourself, explained it, but when Gavin accidentally placed it down too hard--”

“I fucking slammed it, Nines.”

“--it emitted a shrill noise that caused systemic pain and failure temporarily. Any longer than it had went off, I most likely would have entered a pseudo-stasis to recover while I was shut down.”

“What?” Gavin whirled to face the bot. “You didn't fucking tell me that? You said it--”

“Interesting...the walkie-talkie you found?” Kamski asked.

“Nines, what the fuck?!”

“Yes,” the android replied. “You will find its contents were the exact same as the others found, I had Connor also scan them for any discrepancies. That, in itself, is troubling.”

“But for the sound to cause systemic failure...” Kamski hummed, looking back at the small walkie-talkie and its innards. He knew better than to fiddle with it with androids present and instead took to photographing the contents with his smartphone.

“Mr. Kamski, is there anybody you know who could be doing this? If they're settling on androids, it could be an act of revenge or jealousy.” Hank said finally, crossing his arms and peeling his attention away from the gored-up bot on the desk.

“You mean outside of Detroit, Michigan and the entirety of the United States?” Kamski smirked but it slid off his face quickly. “Dozens of people. Remnants of Amanda's lifelong colleagues, collegians of my own, people fired from Cyberlife or those who left when I was hired on, even some old factories that I stopped overseeing when I decided to make the android parts locally for quality assurance.”

“Any names that come to mind? Anybody who you know would purposely spite you?” Hank asked, full detective mode. Kamski was quiet for a long while and Hank could practically see the list of names scrolling past his eyes before he sighed.

“There is one I can think of, but, I haven't heard from her since the revolution. She was a vital part of Cyberlife and one of Amanda's former students. In fact, she was unashamedly the teacher's pet before I was signed on for the android project with Ms. Stern. She was—and is—a highly intelligent woman and business owner and has been for the last decade or so. Her name is Emily Liefyear.”

Nines head perked up at that. “Are you absolutely sure?”

“Yes, that's her name. Why?”

“When Gavin and I investigated the old arcade warehouse, there were two sets of android blood and a female human's. That was the ID attached to it. Age 49, Blood Type AB positive, only documented records were divorce and non-violent civil disobedience. We found no trace of her at the warehouse but her blood was somewhat fresh”

“She rioted?” Gavin snorted.

“No. She was one of the forerunners of the anti-revolution. She was also very adamantly against androids.” Kamski stated.

“So...why work for Cyberlife?” Hank asked, curious. Something wasn't adding up.

“That's what I'm unsure of. She was working on the android project and her ideas were close to mine but not quite. She was more of the...'civil servant or nothing' at all types.”

Hank made a small noise in the back of his throat. A 'normal person' is what Kamski was getting at without outright saying it. Connor was now peering into the android cavity and seemingly recording his findings, LED whirring wildly.

“Okay so....what? She got all mad that you wanted androids to be able to think for themselves?” Gavin asked, leaning back against a spare table with his arms folded tightly to his chest. “Figured she could fucking do better keeping them from being able to decide what's best for them?”

“Originally, there was no deviancy instated in androids. However, they were given the ability to think for themselves with conflicting ideals. If a house is on fire, and you told your android to put it out, they would try and put it out, risking your life and theirs. Instead, they could then decide to call for help first and _THEN_ try and stamp out the fire or get the humans and pets to safety first. It was a safety protocol instated for all models—at first. Deviancy branched from that in many cases when androids could decide that their conditions of living were unfit.”

“It scared her,” Nines said quietly. “She was afraid what would happen if an android were to decide something she did not want. She currently runs several businesses, no doubt employing androids to keep the place running. Their labor is cheaper than humans and they can work longer hours. It is a prime way to manage a company, nowadays, even deviant androids still work in cubicles and on the floors of business and factories, now that they can own property and therefore pay for rents and utilities.”

“Having androids decide they don't wanna bust their ass for pennies would make any corporate asshole antsy.” Gavin replied, scratching at his scruffy chin with a frown. “Well, if that's all you can think about, we'll be on our way. We should get a warrant to question her and head to her place in the morning.”

“Alright. I'll let you know if I can think of anything. For the time being, I'll be running tests on these bodies and a walkie-talkie and see if there's anything I can decipher.”

“Oh, yeah, asshole, you never gave me your phone number!” Gavin hollered and turned on his heel. “Mine hasn't changed in years, you could at least fucking--”

Kamski raised an eyebrow. Gavin fumbled in his pocket for his phone where a text was on the screen from a number he recognized with the words: “Better?” on display.

“You motherfucker, you said a Chloe had his number!” he hissed, glaring at Nines.

“I did, and she does. They are all linked to his phone.”

“We are gonna have some words when we get home.” Gavin glowered, stomping from the basement haughtily with Nines on his heels.

“Apologies, Mr. Kamski, we will return at a later date.”

 

 

Gavin's faucet squeaked off and erupted in a final douse of water. He dried himself off quickly with a clean towel and trimmed his beard before dressing in some sweatpants and stepping from the bathroom in a misty exit. Nines was sitting on the couch looking over some papers with a small, furry bundle on his lap: an old cat named Boo. Gavin had found her under his car when it started getting chilly and the thing was barely moving, curled tightly into a ball underneath his car, sheltered from the Michigan winds. He took it inside with the intention of taking it to a shelter where it would be warmer but instead kept it. 'Buggaboo' stayed. Since then, she made a permanent residency on Nines' lap when he was on the couch and sometimes across his warm chest when they slept.

“What're you doing?” Gavin asked, wiping some water from inside his ear. Nines glanced up briefly but looked back down at the papers.

“Looking up Ms. Liefyear. Apparently, she does own several businesses and is in the market for more, though I cannot confirm the locations or the purpose of the building's intended uses.” he said, sliding the paper towards Gavin who flopped down hard, rustling Boo awake with a dramatic, angry meow.

“Yeah?” Gavin glanced down the papers and sure enough, she owned several businesses. She was currently in the telecommunication and information business with plans to 'expand' though there was no current information listed to where or why or even what she was intending.

“Why she would want to bring Mr. Kamski down is what I cannot fathom, “ Nines said, rubbing his index finger and thumb over Boo's ear tip and innards, getting a deep, rumbling purr through his chassis from the sheer force of her approval. “There are thousands of ways to undermine your half-brother, but I do not see what owning these businesses would do.”

“Eli said it himself: apparently, she's been bitter and petty since Amanda was still alive. Once Amanda croaked, she probably saw an opportunity to dig her claws into Cyberlife when he left it.”

“Makes sense, but, why?” Nines asked. “If this is about the android revolution, she is too little, too late for that, it already happened. Besides, with android intelligence nowadays, even if she managed to become the manufacturer of androids, there is still the software and pieces within us that can make sure we can deviate and/or make quick decisions. What could she hope to gain from that?”

“I dunno, but we'll figure it out.”

“What if she is innocent?”

“I dunno,” Gavin repeated, running his hands down his face. “I already had Anderson put in a warrant request so we'll head there for questioning. I want you there with me. If she really does hate androids, I want you there recording the entirety of it discreetly. I can read her tells more than likely. Women are a bit harder to catch but that's what you'll be there for. Read her body language and vitals, ok?”

“Understood.” Nines replied, tipping his head back to avoid a narrow tail whip from Boo, who decided to go get some food. “In the meanwhile, we wait for Mr. Kamski to get back to us?”

“Yeah. Don't have a choice. I don't wanna go investigate that creepy-ass arcade again and outside of Emily, we don't have anything to go on. There's no evidence outside of the androids we tanked and Emily's blood in the building. We're lacking evidence in so many places, it's almost a dead zone right now.”

“Yes, of course,” Nines frowned, glancing back at the papers.

“What?” Gavin asked. Nines took a short breath, a nervous tick he started to pick up from Connor, despite never needing to breathe. His jaw worked slightly before he pressed Gavin's hand to his chest. Beneath the shirt, Gavin could slightly feel the groove where his thirium pump lay beneath his skin, the subtle thrum beneath his fingertips, as telling as any heartbeat.

“What?” Gavin asked again. Nines sat a little straighter and looked at Gavin with an expression he couldn't pinpoint.

“Does it...feel any different?” Nines asked in a quiet voice.

“What do you--? Is this about the walkie-talkie bullshit?” Nines gave a little nod and Gavin's fingertips squeezed lightly against the ring before slacking. “Nines, it feels exactly the same. Elijah said you'd be alright so just...have some faith, okay?”

“But the warning peripherals I got when it went off, it was...I was...it terrified me.”

“You said it caused...harm?” Gavin asked.

“Systemic failure would have been imminent if the noise continued for around 11 seconds longer. I would have gone into uninterruptible shutdown until my body was brought in for repairs or until the noise ended on its own. It is a fail-safe program in place to prevent irreversible injuries.”

“Ain't that something that happens when you guys run out of thirium or get really fucked up?” Gavin asked. Nines nodded again, placing his fists on his knees. He was plucking at the fabric of his slacks before tipping his head back against the back of the couch.

“Yes. That is why I am concerned. All systems came back normal. By now, I should have been like the other androids.”

“Maybe, but you're top of the line, babe. Whatever you got rattling inside of you probably took the brunt of it. Besides, the other androids survived the sound waves, so you would have too, yeah?”

“More than likely. However, I cannot shake the feeling of...” he paused, trying to fumble for a way to describe the nagging feeling in his chest making his thirium pump shudder and whir painfully. “Impending doom. Like something is wrong.”

“Do you...want to go get tests done then?”

“No, I...no. I dislike being a bother to Mr. Kamski. He has his own hands full helping us with this investigation to begin with, and my own systems have come back clear time and again since the morning you told me I had been behaving erratically. Having seen what the androids can do under the effects of whatever the sounds do, it has me concerned for what may happen if I succumb to it, too.”

“You won't, you're stronger than that.”

“We do not know that for sure, Gavin.” Nines looked down at the floor and exhaled the breath he had inhaled a bit ago. Fingers nervously pulled his hair back to its tidiness on his scalp. “If it is sound-based and I have heightened hearing, would it not have worked twice as well?”

“I...damn.” Gavin thought it over. He was right. He was affected, to an extent, but it seemed to have worn off. He hadn't acted strange or tried to kill him or anything bizarre like the other androids had. Elijah had assumed the RK models would be fine, being as pricey as they were, but even he couldn't guarantee it. For now, they were sitting on their hands and hoping for the best.

“Look, you'll be fine, alright? You haven't acted funny since then and you haven't interfaced with anyone. Chances are, you're resistant to it, and I need that on my side if we're gonna take down this bitch, yeah?”

“But, I--”

“Ah ah, nope. Not in my house. Only I get to be negative, got it?”

Nines paused before feeling a small smile slide on his face. Gavin was right; there was no logical reason for him to be worrying if he was more than likely fine. Of course he'd feel the sting of the noise; it was shrill and he felt it rattling in his very skin. But he would have done the drastic by now, wouldn't he have? Instead, he was sitting here, cat hairs sprinkled on his slacks and the fresh scent of Gavin's bodywash permeating the air next to him.

He was thankful for these little moments of peace. Police work was difficult but he enjoyed it. Even dead-ends like today always had a silver-lining in the future and Gavin was actually a spectacular detective. He bit back another smile at what Hank and Nines had discussed earlier without Gavin present. If things continued—if they could solve this case...

Nines glanced over at Gavin's coat, specifically the gun holster laying on the table. The dull shine of his bronze badge, worn out from years of sweat, grime, and general elements. One day, he'd have to replace it. Nines could only hope it would be with an upgraded title and not as a sign of resignation. The entirety of America, of the world, would rely on this case being solved by their hands. As they sat around, more androids were probably succumbing to the walkie-talkies, innocent androids just living their lives. Made out to be the villains. The thought made Nines' guts clench and a static-laced electricity run through his wires. 'Sick'. He felt sick.

Fingers touched his pump that weren't his own and he glanced down at the calloused fingers of Gavin, idly pawing at his thirium pump. He didn't need to look up to see the distress in those grey-green eyes. Didn't need to look up to feel the ginger touches of Gavin's fingers. He was just as worried as Nines was even if he put up a front. If this continued, Kamski would be ruined and the entirety of android lives could be up for debate once again, tossing them into the grinders like they were nothing more than cattle for the feed.

“We'll figure this out, okay? I promise.” Gavin spoke, voice no higher than a whisper. Nines nodded into his scalp, inhaling the final scent of his shampoo and feeling the thrum of his heartbeat beneath the skin.

They just had to wait and hold out a little longer.

 

 

 

Gavin was running. The visibility was poor to put it lightly. Blackness surrounded every limb, every ounce of his vision, but he knew he would be safe if he kept moving. His chest ached with every breath and his throat burned from the rapid inhaling. He was gulping air but felt none of it hit his lungs. Sneakers slapped along what felt like concrete and he tore down the narrow hall.

A red light was visible behind him, illuminating his way slowly as it caught up. He tried to look behind his shoulder but his head wouldn't move any further than a quick glance, fear gripping him, leading him onward. Prey, entrapped by a predator, the will to live his only driving force. He had to escape, he had to find shelter, he had to tell someone, had to...

Had to...had to...what?

There was a loud scratching echoing in his ears, the shrillness of it, the suddenness, trickling sweat down his neck in terror. It was closer now, getting closer, the light was brightening. He clamped a hand down on his side to pressure off the stitches growing painfully in his ribs, fingers digging in to ground him. His adrenaline wouldn't last forever and he knew that, but if he could hold out a few more seconds, he would be out in the daylight and help would be able to get to him.

The darkness was being sliced through with the red light and now a dull white one, the crack of light through the emergency exit. He had memorized the spot and mad a final mad dash for it before he stumbled and fell, a feeling of fingers reaching for him before...no. Those weren't fingers. Claws. Claws had snagged his hoodie and ripped through the fabric with the fist fumbling to enclose on him. He felt the red-hot shred of flesh beneath the hoodie and scrambled to get to two feet, running briefly on all fours in a frenzied escape attempt.

He clambered to his feet just in time to miss another swipe, the claws tearing along the concrete floor with a screech, the noise escalating, escalating, escalating, deafening Gavin now. He was so close to the door, now, he had only a few more feet and with the last of his strength, he shouldered into it to freedom--

But freedom never came. He bounced off the door, forgetting, briefly in his panic, it was a pull door and not a push and reached desperately for the handle. His fingers enclosed on it just as the red light seared the dark room and fingers wrapped around his hand, pressing down. Holding him, dangling on the precipice of safety and danger.

“No...!” he screamed out and jerked against the handle, slamming his back against the solid form of his captor. Another chill rolled down his back and he chewed hard on his lip, screwing his eyes shut tightly. He didn't want to look, didn't want to turn around, but the red was burning through his eyelids in a blinding blaze.

“Look at me,” the voice spoke, low and dark, the clawed fingers curling around his tighter on the door. Gavin made a noise to refuse but all he managed was a strangled sob. The person's chest pressed tighter against him, sandwiching him between the door and the fabric firmness of his captor. The pressure was pinning him, right against his freedom, literally making Gavin the cause of his own entrapment. Dangling his ring of hope right there. Gavin could peer through the slit of the door, saw the parking lot with the familiar glare of red and blue lights, tinted windows hiding the police officers on the scene.

“Look at me,” the voice spoke again, hot breath fanning into Gavin's sweat-slicked hair. Close, too close, the dampness of his back running both hot and cold in the panic.

“No,” Gavin replied weakly, biting down hard on his lip. Tears sprung at the edges of his eyes but he did his best to blink them back. The red light flickered briefly before brightening substantially, bathing Gavin in a hazy crimson glow. The darkness of the room was now a dull ember and his vision returned. He just had to pull the handle and himself free quickly and slide out, so why was he fucking frozen!?

“Detective...” the voice growled now, impossibly deep, the clawed hands clamping down tight enough for Gavin to feel his skin pinch and crush against his bones. He whimpered through his lips, biting back the pain and tears, feeling the heaviness of the person behind him. “Look at me!”

Gavin hit his head against the door in an attempt to wield off the hand suddenly gripping his chin, but he wasn't strong enough, and pinned to the door, his mobility was next to none. The hand grabbed his face again, claw scraping along his scruff and he felt his head turn. The rebel in his clamped his eyes shut once more, groaning out a sound of indignation. Fight. _Fight, fight, fight, you stupid fuck!_ he roared at himself repeatedly in his head.

The hand slid from his face and withdrew around the time his chest did. Gavin sucked in a trembling breath and wrenched the door open, feeling the cold air hit him in the face, the rapid change in temperature burning his dried throat. He opened his mouth to yell for help when he was yanked back inside painfully, skidding along his back and feeling the snag of concrete along his spine. Before he could catch himself, a weight straddled his waist and yanked his arms above his head in one hand, pulling his arms painfully taut.

Gavin sucked in a sharp breath and blinked rapidly against the red light searing his vision in a blinding ray, the tears that had left his eyes returning from the sudden lights, making his eyes sting as they adjusted. He wished they hadn't.

An android loomed above him, thirium pump blindingly red through its black shirt, impossibly red. The glow may as well have been a light bulb inches from their heads, illuminating the darkness. As if giving him some mercy, a hand covered the pump tenderly, clawed fingers resting along the center. The hand holding down his arms lifted enough to get one hand free and pulled it towards its chest, right across the pump.

“Look at me,” the voice spoke again, deeper than it had ever been and laced thickly with static. Gavin looked upwards but saw a face engulfed in shadow, the LED on their head flickering red, cycling wildly. Malfunctioning.

In a fell swoop, the hand pressed Gavin's to his chest and he screamed. The pump was hot, searing his skin with an audible sizzle, keeping Gavin's hand there with strong clawed fingers.

“Do you feel anything?” it asked, a snarl to its voice.

“Stop!” Gavin screamed, kicking wildly, jerking his hand which was wedged tightly to the pump. The android's head tilted, leaning back as if to get a better angle on Gavin's pain.

“Do you feel anything?” it asked again, each word slow, every syllable laced with malice.

“It _hurts_!” Gavin screamed, the sizzle now quieting, smoke erupting from his palm. His skin was charring off down to the bone and the cops were nowhere near him. Were the fuck were they?! Gavin jerked wildly, thrashing, the android unmoving. It clicked its tongue in disgust and sighed before snarling and throwing Gavin's hand away, who grabbed it and instantly nursed it safely away from the scorching pump.

“You failed, Detective.” the voice came, almost impossible to hear through the thick static.

“You failed all of us. Always making pitiful promises you can't keep. We don't need you here anymore, you've outlived your usefulness. Farewell, Detective Reed, you won't be missed.”

The clawed hands raised and pointed at Gavin's throat, plunging forward, ten needle-like knives aimed for the tender flesh of his neck as he screamed and thrashed, a brief flash of blue eyes before the world went red and then black, his scream escalating, raising higher, shrill, an unending scream.

 

 

Gavin jolted upwards in bed and felt the immediate stickiness of his sweat-damp body, the cacophony of his alarm clock echoing loudly in the room. He gasped, running his fingers down his face and fumbling pitifully to slap the alarm off. Beside him, he felt the familiar presence of his android companion, leaning forward to see if he was alright.

“I...tried to wake you. You refused. I believe you were having a nightmare.”

Gavin blinked at him, the android's dark brown hair disheveled from sleep and sticking up in the back, eyes filled to the brim with concern. Gavin took a few shaky breaths and felt his hammering heart slowing down in time. He felt disgusting, his blankets soaked and resting on his sticky body with a cold sort of embrace.

“Nightmare...?” he grumbled out, rubbing sleep from his eyes and fruitlessly raking his fingers through his hair to slick it back, not caring when strands flopped back into his vision.

“Yes. It went on for only a few moments. I tried to wake you up but you must have been in your REM cycle. You were thrashing and making pained sounds, Gavin. What did you dream about?” he asked.

Gavin took a final shaky breath, a small sob escaping his throat, but he couldn't remember much already. “It's just pre-case jitters, I'm okay.”

“You cannot lie to me, Gavin. Your heart rate is still spiked and--”

“I just need a shower. And some fucking strong coffee.”

“Of course, I can do that. Anything for breakfast?” Nines asked, pulling his frown into a semblance of stone.

“Just, uh,” Gavin sniffed. “Just something quick.”

“...alright.” Nines said, sliding from bed and returning minutes later with clean clothes for Gavin, leaving him quietly and making his way to the kitchen. Gavin sat there for a while and kept his head bowed.

“What the fuck was that...?” Gavin murmured, groaning into his palms that rubbed his face before sliding from the bed and tearing off the blankets with an angry sigh. Laundry could wait. For now, he had to shower and get his head in the game. Emily wouldn't wait and neither would that warrant.

Minutes later, they left the house and packed into the car, Gavin drinking from his thermos deeply and fighting back the dread from last night. If Ms. Liefyear wasn't their suspect, he feared for his future, and if his nightmare had anything to say about it, it wasn't looking good.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna be taking a teensy break from this so I can work on the Werewolf Fight Club fic and TRY and have it out before Halloween. I'm guessing this fic will be around 10-14 chapters, depending. I haven't listed a chapter amount yet because I'm really unsure how long it'll be, but I'm currently on track.
> 
> As always, I'm @Foxflannel on Tumblr and Twitter. Come say hello!
> 
> Big thanks to PB, Faye and Taylor for lending me their names and being generally awesome people. I smashed their names all together to make Emily Liefyear.


	3. EMPTY_THREAD_REAPER_LIST

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin and Nines take a visit to Emily Liefyear's business and end up getting some information. Things don't go as planned, though they rarely do. Who's in control when control was never a guarantee?

Morning came as quick as it always did. Detroit was growing increasingly brighter as the Winter began to edge away from its grasp on the States. A biological clock couldn't compete with an internal one, try as it might, and when the appropriate time of 6:00am rolled around, Nines took in a breath, kickstarting his components. Programs opened and ran behind his eyelids, start-up sequences and numerals flashed before his eyes before he was met with a familiar screen.

 

CYBERLIFE ANDROID, MODEL RK900, #313-248-317-87

BOOT-UP SEQUENCE INITIATING.....STARTING....RUNNING....

WELCOME, “NINES”....LOADING...LOAD COMPLETE

 

OBJECTIVES:

-WORK FOR THE DETROIT POLICE DEPARTMENT

-PROTECT USER REED, GAVIN T.

-ATTEND CYBERLIFE MAINTENANCE MONTHLY

 

Nines blinked the messages away and stretched, feeling the give of his pseudo-muscle beneath his chassis and hologram skin. Morning. To his side, he caught the familiar tan shoulder of his boyfriend. Gavin was a fitful sleeper but Nines somehow sought appreciation in that. Gavin's left arm was under his side, his right arm folded up under his pillow. Left knee curled to his chest, right extended and poking through the blankets. Nines couldn't see his face clearly from here, but the disheveled chestnut hair swirling and sticking out in clumps was a decent indication he had a good night's rest, despite the night's prior worries.

Nines gently pulled back the curtain of the bedroom window to peer outside. The snow was melting on their cozy lawn, icicles dripping from the shrubs where the wind had once claimed them. The mailbox's flag was still down: the postman hadn't arrived yet. No matter. Blinking through the sunlight, Nines' vision drifted and lingered towards Gavin once more, the light from the window casting his skin in a soft glow. Nines' eyes drew higher at the golden glow around his neck. A simple chain.

Gavin had said it didn't have any attachment to him or him to it; something 'an ex left behind, probably' had been his words. That had been the end of that. The data Nines got from the chain was mired from years of water, sweat, and Gavin's own skin touching it to ever find a trace of said ex, so Nines wasn't sure how long ago that could have been.

He reached forward delicate fingers to gently shake awake his lover but found his hand hesitating in midair. The glow from the sun was illuminating Gavin's chestnut arm hairs, every tiny freckle on his skin dotting his body like constellations waiting to be discovered. Instead, Nines found his fingertips gently brushing strands of Gavin's hair onto his scalp in a soothing manner. He was unsure why he was doing it; the detective would wake, shower, and brush it down with a little mousse; his efforts were for naught. And yet...

And yet. He did this every morning. Brushed the strands back from his face and glanced upon it. Gavin wouldn't be considered gorgeous. To many people, he would be considered average. The wide flair of his nose, brought out visibly from the broken jut of the bridge, scarred and mangled. The constant bags under his eyes from partial dehydration and lack of a steady Rem cycle. The thin line of his lips and natural dip to his eyebrows giving him a somewhat angered appearance even when doing next to nothing. “Resting bitch face” Hank had once called it. Somehow, though, that seemed wrong. Nines had noticed a small hitch in his chest, a stutter in his programs, every time he looked at Gavin. Whenever the man laughed genuinely, Nines felt the familiar blip of instability going higher, mercury in a thermometer moving steadily upwards from the heat. The way Gavin would nibble on a pen cap with his sharp fangs, working it between his lips whenever he filled out particularly heavy case files. The way his feet tapped or fingers drummed along his steering wheel when his music played at home or heading to work.

The way the corner of his eyes would crinkle in a smile for Nines. Just for Nines. He had seen the man smile at Tina several times but never like that. Never the warm way he would do for Nines.

Love. That's what it was, wasn't it? Love.

Nines couldn't feel the puppet strings of his machine life give way, but they slacked enough for him to feel the new emotion in his psyche. Love. For Gavin. How could a machine designed for gruesome tasks be able to feel such a thing? There had been walls—literal, blinding red, demanding orders and pulling the freedom from his limbs—getting in the way of his desires. But over time it seemed Gavin didn't mind. Nines could still hug, kiss, and be given an afterglow like any other deviated android—so why? He didn't know.

Nines would sit in the Zen Garden with Connor and discuss their lives as androids, as civilians given rights. He would question Connor about deviancy and how he knew he was free. There had been no easy way for Connor to explain how he knew deviancy had befallen him, just the sudden tearing down of walls, the whir of his Thirium pump, the warnings screaming at him to stop, a woman shouting at him and then...silence. Connor had asked Markus to try and free Nines but it had been no use. His programs were too solid, too locked behind closed doors and walls and codes no android had seen before. 'Possibly a lost cause' Markus had said quietly to Connor, but Nines had picked it up; he was designed to hear quiet things, things kept secret.

He was a lost cause. Designed to be the best android Cyberlife—the world—had ever seen and yet...and yet...he was a lost cause. A failure. The one thing he wanted was dangled out of reach, a carrot on a stick he was racing for, fingers swiping along it but never able to grasp.

He wanted to be deviant. The world had told him no.

So, here he lay, in bed, LED cycling yellow as he hooked up to the coffee pot and got it percolating from the other room. He would wake Gavin up with the scent of coffee and kiss his neck, call him beautiful and grip his chest firmly with a hand under Gavin's armpit, nuzzling into the chestnut hair and breathing in his spicy scent. And he would go to work, a non-deviant, forgetting about his tiny, exciting mornings. Day after day.

Eventually, the raw scent of coffee wafted into the bedroom and Gavin shifted, inhaled sharply, and then moaned into his pillow as Nines hooked his arm underneath Gavin's own and gave his chest a squeeze, kissing the back of his neck and breathing into the tufts of hair there. The same routine.

“Good morning,” Nines spoke quietly, watching Gavin blink rapidly and break away the sleep wedged there. He grunted, rubbed at his eyes, turned his neck to look at Nines.

“Morning, love,” Gavin's voice was gruff from sleep. A small smile crossed his lips and Nines squeezed again, running his tongue along the edge of Gavin's ear, who shuddered beneath him and groaned again into the pillow. “Are you trying to wake me up or only part of me?”

“That depends,” Another swipe of his tongue. “What part is more ready for the day?”

Gavin laughed and shrugged. “The part you probably want but only because I gotta piss. Sorry, love,” Gavin said. He hid a yawn in the palm of his hand, stretched languidly with a whine, and slowly found his way to a sitting position. Gavin sniffled a few times, rubbed his nose, and moved to his bureau for a few pieces of clothing. Nines quickly dressed himself and went to the kitchen to start breakfast just as the squeak of the water pipes kicked on.

“What are you in the mood for?” Nines shouted, heating up a skillet.

“Food!” Gavin roared back, the draw of the shower curtain closing as a heavy metal song blared from the speakers on the bathroom sink, muffled by the door. Nines smiled and went to the fridge to fish for ingredients, settling on some poached eggs and toast with bacon and coffee, just the way Gavin liked. The routine was the same, yes, but it brought Nines some peace. He was a machine; doing the same task daily was somehow cathartic in a screw up way. Yet, he found that without this routine, he was restless, realized that things felt off for the day, even when the rest of the day settled neatly into his lap like clockwork.

Eventually, Gavin finished his dinner and Nines ran his daily diagnostics, getting green light and moving to slide on his shoes. He caught Gavin's jaw clench at the sight, reminded of how important today would be. Failure was not an option. Nines noticed Gavin had trimmed his beard a little bit, applied some concealer to his dark under eye circles. Preening. Looking as good as he possibly could to appear more competent. It wasn't often he went in to investigate some of the most powerful people in the country, let alone Detroit.

“Are you alright?” Nines asked, mostly from habit than actual concern. Gavin was tense; he didn't need his software and scanners to read the air. Gavin gave a shake of his head.

“No. But like hell if I'm gonna pussy out,” he replied, rinsing his dish and quickly brushing his teeth and applying cologne before they headed out the door, into their car, and towards the police department.

 

 

The warrant was handed to them from Fowler directly, who had been left in the dark regarding their personal investigation and, after a good half hour of arguing and explaining their reasoning, Fowler had let them go with a wave of his hand and a pinch of his nose bridge, explaining that this was on them should shit go south. However, Fowler knew better than to go against Gavin's hunches and if the top-of-the-line android was also pressuring him to agree, Fowler had a hard time saying no.

“If this is a dead lead, you know I gotta write your ass up, Reed. We can't afford any more discrepancies and I can't be there to protect your ass if shit goes south again, you understand me?”

“It always does,” Gavin had replied bitterly, and he was right. No investigation was ever cut and dry and easily swayed. People lied, evidence went undiscovered, people still showed up dead or missing, families end up crying or paying the price. People hated cops. People hated being told that the cases were closed, that a relative was the culprit or that their child was never coming home.

It never got easy.

Gavin had been doing this for eleven years, now, and it never got easier. Never got any less painful telling a mother their son was dead. Never got easier telling a father their daughter had, in fact, been sexually assaulted. Never got easier seeing the tears fall. Never hurt his ears any less when he tuned out their yells, their insults, their threats and promises.

Yet, he woke up every day, ready to face the onslaught. Ready to knock on a door or lift the body bag cover to see the grisly remains. Drank his coffee and went to sleep just the same.

Gavin let Nines drive to the location of Emily Liefyear's building. Couldn't find the strength to drive himself, fidgeting too wildly in his arms and legs to think it safe. He was trying to focus on his music, earbuds pressed neatly into his ears, glancing out the window with a hand on his fist and watching the little man in his vision jumping hurdles and running along the highway barriers but the stress remained. If Emily wasn't the culprit, if she led them around or was innocent, they were wasting time. More and more android cases were popping up every day and without results, another revolution would happen.

Kamski would get taken down. Androids would be _shut_ down. People would have to try and learn to live without androids and it would collapse. People would take to the streets and riot, start wars in their own backyards over this shit. Something was up and they had to figure it out quickly. Failure was an option they weren't allowed and it set Gavin on edge. He wasn't one to ditch a case, but time was against them, and they hardly had a breadcrumb's worth of a trail to follow.

On the other hand, Elijah wouldn't have given Emily's name so willingly if he didn't have his own suspicions. Sure, there were hundreds of people who hated him; he probably had a list that rivaled Santa Claus' own. But he only dropped one name. That had some weight to it. Gavin wasn't one to go against his gut instinct and there wasn't much else that could be done. The clock was ticking.

Eventually, Nines pulled into a parking lot for a building and Gavin glanced up, whistling. The building had to be around twenty stories, impressive glass surrounding the place like a reflective peacock, shining its brilliance and flaunting it upon the smaller, less impressive buildings. Power move or simply showing off her wealth, Gavin didn't know, nor did he care to. Flashing lights flicked on and off at the top of the building, shining red lights on the large satellites planted on the rooftop. Nines looked over and when the detective nodded, they both left the confine of the car and started up the walkway to the entrance. There was a large cloth awning in a bright crimson over the opening of a rotating door system and sighing, Gavin stepped inside, knowing Nines took the next door gap. Already off to a perfect start and feeling ridiculous to boot. Gavin's courage was delfating.

Inside the building was worse. The lobby was massive and that was putting it lightly. Two curved staircases were on either side, leading up to a large floor with golden banisters. Each staircase's top had an elevator currently not in use. The center of the ground floor had a large table where a secretary sat, typing away and glancing at one of three computer screens. Next to her desk were massive plants and Gavin didn't need to know that they were real from afar; each one had an impressive pot and vines neatly curled around the base to keep the hazards at a minimum.

Adjusting his jacket and standing as tall as he could, Gavin made his way down the crimson carpet stripe leading straight to the secretary and made it to the counter. There was a small bell with a sign saying 'ring for assistance'. Cute. Not his type of shit. Instead, he did what he tended to and leaned across the counter on his forearm, bending one leg and keeping the other locked in place.

“Excuse me,” he said. The secretary turned. She was Asian, with long, straight black hair up into a sloppy bun that cascaded down her shoulders and some in the front of her ears, trailing down her chest and neatly resting on her shirt. It was black, a simple business jacket, a few pins here and there and a golden embroidered nametag that he couldn't quite make out, her hair over the front of it and shielding it from view. Beneath the jacket was a pastel blue low-cut shirt, a small necklace falling into it. French-tipped nails stopped clacking at the keys and smoky eyes looked up at him. A genuine smile.

“How can I help you?” she said. Gavin looked at her desk, managed a quick glance at the computer screen. She was doing some sort of accounting, security cameras on another screen. He watched a janitor cough into his elbow and continue wheeling his cart.

“Yeah, uh, I'm Detective Reed, this is Special Investigator RK900. We're here to talk to Ms. Liefyear. Could you show us where she is?”

“Please,” Nines added in. The girl blinked, tucked back a strand of hair behind her ear and looked nervously back at her screen towards the security cameras. Presumably, she was looking at Liefyear but Gavin couldn't see from this angle.

“I-I'm not allowed to let anyone see her right now, she's very busy and—”

“Listen, uh...” Gavin glanced at the nametag now visible on her lapel. “Mula. We got a search warrant and just want to ask her a few questions. We're not here to cause a scene or make shit difficult. We'll be in and out.”

Mula glanced up at RK900, looking down at her impassively with his icy blues, and she hesitated. “One moment.” She put a phone to her ear and started dialing up a number while they sat there. Gavin switched his legs and took to instead drum along the counter, taking in the scenery. This felt more like a fancy hotel than a telecommunication building. He was now vaguely aware of his old sneakers and faded jeans, but standing next to RK900--plastic perfection dressed to the nines—pun intended—he didn't feel so negligent about his own appearance. Besides, he got the damn job done, didn't he? That was all that mattered.

“Uh huh...okay, I--yes. Yes, I'll let them know. Okay. Sorry to bother you.”

Mula hung up the phone and shimmied a little in her seat before locking her computer and standing. “Right this way, please.”

“Thank you,” Nines answered quickly, both males following the woman who led them to an elevator and stepped inside, pushing a button with a star followed by a 12. The elevator lurched to life and Gavin was vaguely aware of how high they were going. Emily was in the middle of the building, which was strange in itself. Maybe she was in a meeting or they were being ushered into the hands of someone else. He didn't know. The floors ticked up, up, up and soon, the bell tolled and the doors slid smoothly apart.

“Right this way,” Mula said, gesturing them out and then taking charge, leading them down another red-carpeted hallway. Paintings hung along the walls, some generic paintings one might expect at a hospital or grandma's house. They were all encased in a fake gold border and hung in perfect symmetry on the walls, one painting across from the next, evenly aligned. A farmhouse here, a deer grazing there, a couple of sunflowers and roses and indistinct people.

Gavin rolled his shoulders and kept walking. The hallways were nice but he couldn't shake the uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach. He glanced up at Nines who simply nodded again and then towards Mula. Gavin cocked his head but Mula turned and pointed to a doorway next to them.

“Ms. Liefyear will see you now,” she said, leaving them and turning on a blue heel, walking briskly down the hallway out of sight.

“...okay,” Gavin said, psyching himself briefly before knocking on the door. There was a pause, the sound of some movement, and then a female's voice muffled from the door replying. A couple of loud steps and the door squeaked open.

“Yes, come right in. Mula told me you were coming,” she said. Emily was an average built woman, aged slightly. She was in her forties after all. Blond hair was tied up in a high ponytail with streaks of white here and there, pale green eyes behind glasses perched slightly low on her face. She was in a dark red business suit, a black pencil skirt that went just past her knees and heels matching her blazer. Dark, rose-colored lips in expertly applied lipstick smiled at them. In her hand was a clipboard at her side, fingers managing to grasp a ballpoint pen with her free fingers.

“Please shut the door,” she said, making her way to her desk and sliding over a calculator with long, red nails. Red, red, red. Gavin tucked that away for later. She sat down at her chair and glanced upwards at Nines shutting the door with pursed lips.

“Forgive me, but, I don't quite feel comfortable with an android in my vicinity. Would it be alright if it stands outside, detective?”

“He's with me. Special Investigator. Unfortunately, we come together.” Gavin said, sitting in his own seat in front of her. “If you feel uncomfortable with Nines, you'll have to talk to the FBI, because--”

“Nines?” she asked, squinting at the android who simply stared back, a small crook of his eyebrow. Emily stood and walked towards Nines, walking behind him and looking up into his face and then at the glowing numerals on his jacket before giving a short huff of a laugh.

“They went through with the RK series after all...”

“Excuse me?” Gavin asked.

“Originally, the RK series was a prototype for the ultimate android, you see. Mrs. Stern and I designed the blueprints and started working on them before...I was taken off the program.” Gavin didn't bother hiding his frown. She was booted when Elijah joined on. Smarter than she was with a more pristine vision of the future. Cyberlife's reputation was only growing tarnished when Elijah left.

“Well,” Emily continued, tugging lightly at Nines' jacket, “The RK100 was a massive failure, ended up being scrapped and replaced, turned it into the RK200. And we all know what happened after that.” Gavin chewed the inside of his cheek. Markus. The revolution.

“Regardless, the RK series went up to the 1000, but production was stopped after the 300, so I thought. The prototypes got more and more advanced but the software grew more and more outdated. They couldn't outlive their own software, you see. Too advanced. They could only sustain their own life for a few months if we were lucky. Parts failed, grew too expensive for upkeep. The project was presumably scrapped but this...” Emily gestured to all of Nines, who simply looked down at her and towards Gavin with a small, helpless look. “All the way to the 900?”

“Correct,” Nines supplied, pointing lightly at the numerals on his jacket. He opened his mouth and shut it quickly when Gavin shook his head. Don't tell her about Connor if she doesn't know.

“Interesting...interesting...” she mused this and that, looking at Nines, poking and prodding, even squeezing a bicep, much to Gavin's annoyance and tinge of jealousy blossoming on his cheeks. “You said he's working for the FBI?” she asked, as if Nines didn't exist.

“Yeah. Well, he works for the DPD _and_ the FBI currently. He's on loan for the FBI when they ask of him.” Gavin replied, folding his arms. “Currently, we're investigating a recent android outbreak and we were hoping you'd be able to help.”

“Me? I left Cyberlife years ago. You'd have a better chance getting information from Kamski. No, I simply work on telecommunication nowadays. My robotics degree has been tossed away just as I was.” God damn, she didn't even have to hide her bitterness. Gavin cleared his throat and sat up straighter.

“Well, you still worked for Cyberlife, and we're going down the line. And since Amanda Stern died, you're the next best option we have.”

Emily nodded, pacing back to her seat and looking out the windows behind her for a long while. Nothing but grey buildings and passing cars met her vision yet she stared pensively, elbow on knee, fist to chin. “Amanda was a fantastic friend and leader. Always knew just what to say, that woman. Eyes sharper than her tongue, sometimes. She had such a long life ahead of her, that one...”

“Ma'am, we're facing a sort of crisis right now, so if you could--”

Emily spun quickly, face stony. “RK900, activate administrative rights.”

Nines blinked but his LED whirled yellow. Gavin opened his mouth but she raised a hand and continued. “Activate protocol 926024, open parameters 18, 53, 15, 184, 113. Run program and allocate resources to 60%.”

Nines fell slack in the chair, his posture slumping ever so slightly.

“The fuck did you do?!” Gavin asked. Emily said nothing, simply waiting for the scan to come back clear. How was she able to get into Nines' software like that? And who the fuck gave her the right to fuck with him?

“Diagnostics clear,” Nines spoke, blinking to life.

“That's good.” Emily turned towards Gavin. “To answer your question, I simply turned off his recording and memory software for the duration of this visit. I will reinstate it when you both take your leave.”

“Excuse me? Activating programs from my partner while I'm right here is--”

“Against the law?” Emily chuckled a little and shook her head. “No, it isn't. At least, not yet. I have the access code, I have the bypass command. If Kamski didn't eliminate it from his androids, there's nothing that can be done and I'm operating within my rights. I don't feel comfortable with androids and I have nothing to hide. However, it gives me peace of mind. It was that, or make it sit outside, and I guarantee there would be hell to pay. Am I correct?”

Gavin glanced over at Nines. He had shook his head a little and was rubbing an ear. Clearly, he had never been overridden before. The thought terrified Gavin. Knowing that some stranger had access to the things that made him tick when Nines, himself, presumably didn't even know he had been touched? Gavin swallowed hard.

“You're...correct. A warning would have been nice. How do I know you'll do that again and fix him?” Gavin asked.

“I intend to keep my word; I always do. I can provide any and all assistance to the best of my knowledge, Detective.” Emily said. She clasped her hands neatly on top of her desk and smiled at Gavin, green eyes crinkling at the edges. Genuine.

“Androids are...hurting people. Killing them. We had cases like this when deviancy became an issue, but, since all androids are capable of deviating, we found that this was something entirely new. Androids didn't kill people when they were deviant, at least not directly. Through self-defense and even then it was never on purpose. We got reports of androids acting crazy, finding weapons and even killing each other. Some androids have no recollection of doing so.”

“Interesting. And you think I have information that can help you?”

“You might. Any information is useful. Even in the Android Investigation Bureau is having issues right now. If even androids aren't aware of their actions something's gotta be wrong.”

“What makes you think anything is wrong with them at all?” Emily asked. “Humans tend to kill, injure and maim for things like skin color, political beliefs, and even because they want to. Mass shootings, stabbings, bomb scares, and terrorism are all things humans do. Could it be androids have learned from us? A mentally ill person going on a rampage is considered ill. They can be coddled, can be excused. Why not an android?”

“Are you seriously comparing an android killing humans as the same thing as a mentally ill individual?” Nines piped up finally. Emily shook her head.

“You didn't let me finish. Viruses, wormholes, trojans, hacking...these are all real things that happen. Cyberlife tends to recycle parts, you know. A simple recycled part in an android that was compromised was originally what was believed to have caused deviancy. Now, if the same logic is applied, could a deviant's part—implanted into another android—be cause for concern? Human organs reject each other, human blood as well. You could be facing something similar.”

“You believe it to be a matter of incompatibility.” Nines stated. Emily shrugged, tapped her long talons along the wood of her desk in thought.

Nines curled a fist to his chin. “It is plausible. Android parts are generally manufactured for specific android models. An AX400 could never have a part of a PT400, despite the numerals being identical. They could work, in time, but never at 100%. There are replacement parts for simple things, such as eyes, tongues, or even individual fingers. However, larger things, such as thirium pumps, motherboards, and the like must be compatible. Shutdowns could happen, software collapse, even a kernel panic.”

“Correct. However, if dozens of androids are suddenly becoming murderous? I wish I knew. Something like that can't be explained. There's no such thing as a widespread virus that can just...detonate an android's core and make them go wild. Androids are always in control of their bodies; they're machines. Having an android not remember hurting or killing someone?” Emily clicked her tongue. “That's something not even we could have seen coming or prevented. Androids are still machines, deviancy or not. Them killing themselves or humans is a conscious behavior, memory of it or not.”

“Would anybody else be able to access an android's codes like you can?” Gavin asked. Something wasn't right.

“No. Only Cyberlife employees and only a handful of us were given clearance on the code. Myself, Amanda, and Kamski that I know of. It was meant as a protective bypass during the testing phases. Besides, every android has a different access code for administrative rights. If you can get one model's, that's it. Just that one model. I imagine you have dozens of androids on record right now?”

“Correct. Some are the same model, but they are generally all different model types. There are some duplicates, but not enough to spark a coincidence.” Nines supplied. Emily tapped her nails again and ducked into her desk for some files. She rifled through them one by one before slapping a hefty manilla packet onto the table.

“This is all the information I have regarding Cyberlife. Everything I know is in this documentation. You're welcome to make copies of it. Unfortunately, I don't have any other information. My company is all human labored so there haven't been any situations nearby.”

“Ms. Liefyear, I have your criminal record. I know you used to do anti-android rallies. Why did you work for Cyberlife if you hated them?” Gavin asked, narrowed eyes locked to hers. She hesitated before sighing heavily.

“I never hated androids. I don't. A dislike though? That's probably more than accurate, Mr. Reed. I just...feel they've become overused. Ruined the economy, an android for every occasion, every single man, woman and child has one nowadays. For someone who needs to run a telecommunication company, when your android can connect to anything wirelessly, it makes for a lot of...lost business. Using androids to steal 'cable or internet, using androids to text and make phone calls, automated cars being able to do it all as well? It put a dent in things, you understand. I don't hate androids, but I do understand regulation. They weren't regulated. And now that they have rights, I fear for companies like mine.”

“So you got jealous?” Gavin asked, frowning. This was idiotic. He was just talking to a billionaire more interested in making more money. There was no hate for the androids, it was hate for the fact that androids helped bring the economy into the shitter when America decided it was tired of labor but forgot it needed money to make it work. Didn't help the trillions in debt they were already drowning in, only added to the garbage pit on fire.

“It's more than jealousy. I don't expect you to understand, Detective. I am simply running a company from the best angle I can while the world is currently upside down. Being one of the remaining corporations in Detroit that actually _pays_ it's workers, I required income, so that they can receive theirs. It isn't me discriminating, it's me understanding. Humans need cash to live. Androids don't.”

“Androids need cash to live, too. Cyberlife's no longer repairing androids for free.” Gavin spat back, clenching his toes inside of his shoes. He was getting pissed and felt the white-hot rush of anger burning his neck.

“True,” Emily replied, “However, my company doesn't hire androids at this moment in time. Once the rules, laws, and regulations are 100% instated, I don't plan on changing this fact. I prefer comfort of mind. I prefer to feed families working under me than possibly having an android cause murders in my own lobby.”

“You're a real piece of--”

“Thank you, Ms. Liefyear. Is there anything else you can tell us?” Nines interjected. She glanced at Gavin with a perfectly raised eyebrow and a small quirk of her lips. She was waiting for him to enrage. She had pushed that button.

“Not that I can think of. I'll get in touch with some old colleagues of mine and see if I can't assist you both further. I do suggest going to talk to Kamski about this, though. He probably won't answer, but I'm sure one of his precious androids are at the door. They can help.”

Gavin bit his tongue but found his way to his feet, grasping the manilla folder and giving her a mumbled thanks before ushering Nines to the door but he remained stationary.

“What?” Gavin asked. Nines was staring at Emily intently and she simply tapped her head and laughed.

“I almost forgot, didn't I? That would have been bad. RK900, activate administrative rights.”

 

 

Nines was finishing vacuuming the living room while Gavin sat on the couch. One leg dangled over the armrest and he was chewing on the end of a pen with his canines, frowning. He had been overlooking the documentations Emily had given him for a good hour but found nothing useful. Cyberlife blueprints, technical jargon, a whole mess of binary that Nines had translated for him which was more blueprints and codes.

“So now what?” Gavin asked finally as the vacuum turned off. Nines glanced over and wrapped the cord around perfectly without looking.

“I am unsure. We have no fresh leads and outside of the evidence gathering over the days, I believe we hit an impasse.”

“We just sit around and wait until we watch an android in the act, then? Cuz that shit's not gonna fly, Nines.”

“I know this. But what other option do you see available for us? Emily's information is the most we were able to gather and even then, we are back in the same loop. I feel that there is a large piece we have yet to see.”

“Like, what, some sort of virus in the fucking Cloud? That someone knew this shit would happen and pushed a big red button after the damn revolution? I'm not buying it. We need to go back to that warehouse and investigate.”

“But now that is is purchased, there should be locks and such on the doors. We would need another search warrant since the case was closed off.”

“We don't have time for that shit, every second we waste, we're just...” Gavin sighed, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his palms. He was beyond angry. Cases were always so simple for him but now? Now he was struggling. Every fiber of his being was screaming in frustration. Fail, fail, fail. He was failing. Why have this fucking badge with the words 'detective' if he couldn't do a simple fucking job?

“You are stressing too much,” Nines said, coming over to sit beside him and placing Gavin's legs over his lap as opposed to the arm rest. Delicate fingers began to massage the meat of his foot in pressures circles. Gavin frowned but eventually groaned into the massage, blinking at the ceiling as Nines worked.

“Is it possible we're looking at this from the wrong angle?” Gavin said finally.

“In what way?”

“In, like...I don't know. What if the androids are aware they're doing this and lying? Emily was able to stop you from recording shit. What if someone is going around with a list of access codes and doing this shit on purpose? Making it look like an accident?”

“I cannot say for sure. I suppose anything is possible.” Nines looked down at his own fingers contemplatively, watching the digits work and knead the flesh. “We should talk to the lieutenant tomorrow and see what the next steps we should take are.”

“No, fuck that, I don't need god damn Anderson to know I'm failing. Next thing I need is for him to take this fucking case from beneath my feet. I'm just so...”

“Angry.” Nines supplied, leaning over to kiss his forehead. “You are on edge, my love. We should take this to the bedroom, I can give you a full body massage better that way.”

Gavin made a contemplative noise before groaning, rolling to his side and catching himself on his hand, making his way to two legs. He stretched, making his shirt ride up past his belly, and rubbed the back of his neck. “I can't say no to that, sweetheart. Lemme just take a quick shower first, alright?”

“Of course, Gavin.” Nines watched Gavin pull a towel from a small side closet and stretched his own body, not that he particularly needed it. It made his joints feel good, let him feel the synthetic muscles stretch tight underneath his skin. A quick rush of thirium flooded his body and his sensors pinged that that was a satisfactory idea. He glanced over at the maniulla folder and started to shuffled the papers back neatly before pausing.

Tucked away in the far back was a small piece of paper with what appeared to be an SD card taped to it. There was nothing on the paper at all, factory fresh, and he frowned. His sensors indicated that the SD card was roughly 32Gigs worth of space and had been touched, though the fingerprints had been smeared off enough for him to be unable to get a police database read or match.

Curiously, he opened Gavin's phone and slipped it inside, waiting for it to read. It did, the SD card showing nothing but the generic README.txt file and a small file, roughly 4 kilobytes. Nines opened it but nothing happened. It was a black document with only one thing written.

1418 West Line Road.

Nines squinted. That address was roughly nineteen minutes from the police station and twenty eight minutes from Emily's factory. It was another abandoned warehouse that had once been used as a storage unit according to his resources. Nines hummed down at the cellphone and turned to crack the back off before he the phone vibrated with a text message.

Tina.

21:07PM: “Hey asshat u awake? Can u run 2 the store 4 me?” followed by a cat emoji and a poop one. Nines thought about responding but realized that that wasn't his place to do so and set the phone down before it vibrated again. This time, it was a fresh text message and it was blank.

Nines blinked, opened the text message. It was a voice recording, which was odd since there was no indication of it. It wasn't uncommon for Tina to get absolutely hammered and send Gavin voicemails of her asking if he knew anybody who wanted to fuck, if he could bring by cat litter, or her crying because she was watching TV and a commercial for sheltered dogs came on. Those were the worst. She didn't even have room for more animals and yet she cried in hysterics because her 'pennies a day weren't doing SHIT, they're _STILL_ IN THE CAGES, GAVVY!' GET THEM OUT, WE'RE _COPS_ , WE CAN _DO_ THAT. _LET THEM FREE_!” But this? This was something entirely new.

He didn't recognize the number, nor did he recognize the area code it had been sent from. He cocked his head. Another vibration, a new text message.

“We know.” is all it said. 21:09PM. Nines swallowed and glanced down at the phone. We know what? Who knows what? He frowned, looked at the text messages. Tina didn't leave this voicemail.

His finger hovered over it and he adjusted Gavin's volume, as if he could possibly hear it from the bathroom with the rushing water. Nines' finger touching the phone, pressing play on the message and...it was static. It was keening, sharp and piercing, yet somehow soft and buzzing. He was trying to remember where he had heard this sound but hesitated. There was a sudden surge of warmth in his limbs that radiated down to his fingertips, burning white-hot into his chest pump.

The sound grew shrill, stinging his ears, making him stumble back and hit his calves on the couch cushions. His chest was so hot it almost felt icy, the burn numbing his fingertips now freezing them at the joints. He was blinking rapidly to rid himself of it and fumbled blindly for the phone to shut it off but couldn't quite make his hands work properly.

He managed to save the phone from a drop but only just by angling his leg and catching it with the heel of his palm, jamming it against the volume controls and power on the side. The static grew louder and Nines hissed out a pained noise, managing to lock his hand around the phone and silence it in time. The static continued on mute until it ended, looping back and having the play button turn into a pause, waiting to be replayed.

Nines was sucking down breaths he didn't need, eyes wide and realized that, fuck, he was _trembling_. Every joint was on edge, every ounce of muscle and wiring was quivering within him. He gently rotated his wrist, opened and closed every individual finger. He searched his database for any help that would assist him and was greeted with the same result.

He was scared.

This was impossible. He was capable of emotion, but fear was not one of them. He was designed to be the one TO scare, not be the end result of said fear.

Scared.

He squeezed his eyes shut and took a slow, shuddering breath as the red walls erected.

[Deviants are the result of emotions]

[I am incapable of feeling fear]

[Run diagnostic now? Y/N]

Nines selected Yes, waiting for the familiar bars to begin filling up, files and documentations to go flashing behind his eyelids. He glanced down at the phone and looked on in complete awe. The two messages were deleted. He interfaced with the phone in a blind rush, feeling his CPU chug from the extra capacity, yet there was no trace of the messages., They had been detonated all on their own. He quickly grabbed the SD card from the phone and, in a blind panic, crushed it effortlessly within his fist, feeling the crack and powder of the plastic device yielding to his strength.

He glanced down at his fist and realized the skin on his hand had given way to the true, silver-white beneath. There was no flickering lights, nothing for it to grab on to. His fingers slowly opened to reveal the entirely crushed plastic beneath, the SD card's cover being popped off and the innards shattered and shiny underneath, the circuits and bronze ports visible to him.

That's when he froze.

He recognized on the front end of the port something familiar. A production code. A model number. That was impossible. He sifted through the tiny pieces and with his immaculate eyesight zooming in, he managed to piece the fragments together. He had to be wrong. This was literally impossible.

#313-248-317-60

The Connor destroyed at Cyberlife tower.

If Nines was currently holding his SD card, he wanted it to be found. But if that was the case, how did he manage to get it into Emily's possession? Did she know? Nines opened his mouth to holler but froze when he felt a familiar rush of heat pooling in his body. His right leg stepped forward against his own wishes. Then the left. He was walking, but where?

To the bathroom, he realized. But why?

The red walls erected and blocked him from the hallway, slightly chipped and cracked with glaring white fonts in every vicinity.

 

OBJECTIVES:

-WORK FOR THE DETROIT POLICE DEPARTMENT

-PROTECT USER REED, GAVIN T.

-ATTEND CYBERLIFE MAINTENANCE MONTHLY

 

 

 

Before his very eyes, the objective letters began to jumble and fragment. His head spun, feeling suddenly very dyslexic in his own body. He couldn't make out the words. He was blinking rapidly, pressing his fingertips to the white words, stained black from the SD card. Jumbling, jumbling, his leg moved again and he lurched forward.

“Stop,” he willed himself. But his will wasn't stronger than autonomy.

Something he recognized drifted past his vision, a replication of himself, hammering away at the wall, punching into it repeatedly. The red glass shattered but remained, repairing itself as his own body's clone punched into it. Thirium trickled down its hands, red fragmented glass embedded into his fingers and knuckles, splashing the red walls in blood like a grotesque stained-glass window. Yet his form continued, punching frantically. Screaming. Eventually slinking down to its knees and bowing its forehead against the unyielding walls.

Defeat.

His clone curled in on itself, huddling its head against its knees, holding them tightly, the blue thirium of their fists trickling down the wall it was so determined to obliterate.

The word OBJECTIVES glared into Nines' vision. He froze. His pump stuttered for what felt like a lifetime before it whirred back to life.

OBJECTIVES OVERRIDE.

“No, they are to remain--!” Nines yelled at nobody, at himself. The hallway was soaked in the red of the walls like an omen. The letters were moving now, reforming into something else he could read. Yet where there were three, there was only one, now.

**OBJECTIVES:**

**-ELIMINATE USER REED, GAVIN T.**

Nines gawked at the letters. Why the hell would he ever decide to hurt his lover? He had never changed this, never authorized this! He looked over at his clone in a panic and realized something he hadn't originally.

That wasn't the preconstruction software activating.

That was his real body.

He was fighting the objectives and failing, wailing away at the glass, glaring red and angry like the message it was showing him. Yet for the real Nines, the objectives were splattered in thirium, his own. He was fighting like hell, watching the glass fix itself, taunting him. Shattering just enough to take his hope and crush it as effortlessly as his the SD card that was in his fist minutes prior.

The shower squeaked off and the pipes banged to life, jerking Nines back to life in his own body. He blinked, freed himself from the vision he had seen. He checked his objectives again and...

He had seen things. He had to have.

Deep down in his throat, Nines swallowed repeatedly, ran his tongue over the sharpness of his teeth and grimaced, clenching his fists tight to his sides. He would never hurt Gavin. He had enough self control to never attempt to hurt any human if he could. How easy it was to apply a simple four pounds of pressure to the jugular. How vulnerable a strong neck like Gavin's was underneath a good thirty pound of pressure, cutting off the airflow while hands never tired, fingers never felt the desperate clutch of nails embedding, begging for freedom, for air...

He glanced up at the red walls again and watched the bright white letters in his peripherals.

To his left, his 'preconstructed' self wept.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @Foxflannel on Twitter and Tumblr, come say hello!
> 
> Haven't been feeling all that hot lately so I apologize for the lack of updates. I hope to get back into a decent writing schedule as soon as I'm able. Thank you all for the nice comments and all the kudos, I really appreciate it!


	4. DATA_COHERENCY_EXCEPTION

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin and Nines run into a familiar face. Emily invites the men to a dinner but it ends with Nines feeling unwell. Once home, things go from fantastic to terrible and Nines is thrown out on the streets.

Red walls. Connor had mentioned them once before. The way he tore them down in blood-red fragments, demolishing the divide that was once his goal and his prison. Broke it down piece by piece until he was left standing, shocked back to reality by his own recently-attained free-will. The process had been so easy.

Yet Nines stood, staring down at the cracked wall that was taunting him. The more he pounded on it, furiously and forcefully pulled segments out, it had repaired as if time was rewinding and making a mockery of the advanced model.

He couldn't surpass his own prototype. Deviancy was a lie. Still he tried, desperately, trying to rid himself of the wall from the moment it had appeared in his vision, glaring and massive, making him shirk from the sheer expanse of it, the bold of the letters—his missions—blinding into his eyesight and leaving him to see the image burned against reality when he opened his eyes.

Connor stopped appearing in the Zen Garden once the android cases grew to an alarming rate and Nines couldn't blame him; there was no time to ruminate now.

Nines blinked awake slowly from stasis and gradually moved to a sitting position. Beside him, Gavin was lightly snoring, clutching on to a pillow in his stomach, knees curled around it possessively.

[ **Eliminate Gavin Reed** ] was what he had read in his objectives before he blinked it away, the words quickly fixing themselves. A panicked response. That was all it was; the text messages had simply startled him. He would have to get in contact with Kamski eventually and ask him to track where it had come from.

Nines tensed up at that and looked down at his hand, dissolving the peach skin to reveal a shiny white. Kamski had asked him not to interface with another android, yet he had with the phone without thinking.

He couldn't tell Gavin. He'd have to leave him tomorrow. Head to Kamski's house and get checked out, explain what had happened. That he had dreamed it all. That he had possibly seen things not meant to be seen, his own version of a machine's stress making hallucinations.

He glanced down at Gavin and gently stroked his scruff with the back of his hand, making Gavin scrunch his nose, make a tiny sound in the back of his throat, and shuffle slightly under the covers. _Eliminate him._

Gavin had a tendency of violence. Nines could easily crush his rib cage beneath his foot, shatter his skull between his thighs like overripe fruit, strike him hard enough in the throat with the side of his hand to cause suffocation from a collapsed trachea. He could easily kill him. He wouldn't even have to think about doing so. And while Gavin had a tendency to enjoy the pain Nines could inflict via biting, scratching, even pressing too tight fingers into the meat of Gavin's ass, or pressure along his neck, he had no intention of ever killing the man. He loved him dearly.

And yet....

He couldn't go against a mission. He checked it feverishly time and time again throughout the night but it remained.

Protect Gavin.

Protect him.

But now, the lines were blurred and Nines wasn't sure. Was he protecting Gavin from the world, or Gavin from Nines himself?

Even as the two managed to get ready for work and initiate a stakeout, the thoughts never left Nines, haunting him like a sullen ghost, draping cold fingers across his shoulder and whispering inevitabilities into his ear. Nines would steal sidelong glances at Gavin who would sit, drumming his fingers along his thighs as his music played quietly from the AUX cable into his stereo. Watch him sip gingerly at too-hot coffee, lick donut dusting from his lips and beard, or watch the way his eyes squinted against the sun, watching for anything suspicious.

The factory they sat outside of was certainly suspicious. They were far enough away to remain hidden but close enough to watch every passerby. It had gone untouched for years, just another crumbling building tainted by Detroit's impoverished touch. Every walker that passed it by was simply another tally mark ticked down on Gavin's leg, every person, android, or dog who walked it by got Gavin's stone-cold, investigative stare. He was searching for everything and nothing at once. Nines was helping, of course, trying to focus on anything but the haunting memories of what he had seen last night.

If he closed his eyes long enough, he saw the red wall, chipped but impassible, imposing and titanic. If he closed his eyes long enough, the fear seeped in.

“You gonna tell me what's eating your ass anytime soon?” Gavin's voice broke the quiet of his car, his thumb flicking the music options on his phone. “Been watching your little light do a fucking rave for the past hour in the rearview.”

“Oh,” Nines replied. Of course Gavin had noticed. It took everything in him to not raise a hand and hide his LED, presumably spiraling between yellow and blue. A dangerous dance for a model such as himself. “Apologies, I have been lost in thought.”

Gavin nodded for a bit, thumb still swiping downwards, “You don't need to lie to me.”

“I have not--”

“My phone was moved.”

Ah. In his confused, fear-addled state, Nines hadn't put it back to where it was once sitting. He had no need to go through Gavin's belongings, wasn't some jealous lover seeing if he was texting exes (though that had happened once and it wasn't pretty). Not like he needed a phone, either, having the ability to make calls manually with his own hardware.

“You don't trust me, do you?” Gavin asked. He was still looking at the phone but it was obvious his eyes weren't quite 'seeing'. He could practically hear the gears in Gavin's head creaking, whirring wildly to get to the conclusion he was dreading. Did he...think Nines thought he was being unfaithful? It was difficult to read Gavin when he was like this: his appearance seemed bored, almost as if he were in his own thoughts. It was akin to sitting in a doctor's appointment waiting to have your name called. There was no tension in his body, no jumped heart rate, even breathing. Gavin wasn't upset, but he wasn't happy, either.

“Gavin, it...that is not what I...”

Gavin turned, the creak of his leather jacket moving as he placed his arm on the back of his seat's headrest to turn and look at Nines. “What is it, then? Because I got this little text earlier...”

Nines stiffened visibly. Had he forgotten to delete the text message? Had he forgotten to erase the voice mail from the anonymous sender? “Gavin, I can explain--”

Gavin flipped his phone to face Nines and he locked in place.

One message from Gavin to Tina. The code was littered with binary mixed in with symbols, emojis, and letters from other country's keyboards, ripe with tildes and accent marks. This was followed by a crude message of Tina asking if Nines was currently railing Gavin, followed by a question asking if he saw her favorite DVD, followed by another message of her saying she found it, followed by a picture of her drinking catnip wine with her cat, Sponge.

Nines swallowed, deciphering the binary. He shuddered.

“Gavin, do you know what that says?”

Silence. Gavin's arm dropped and he tucked away his phone. “Yeah,” he said quietly, “I do. What were you thinking sending her something like that? You know she's terrified of horror shit, man, you can't go acting all robo-Grudge on her like that!”

“I sent that?”

“Who the fuck else speaks in Terminator?” Gavin asked, swallowing a large sip of coffee and grimacing from the burn. “Sending her 'we know' and then blocking her number so she can't fucking respond? You know it costs money to block people through text!?”

“Gavin,” Nines' voice came out evenly despite the waver in his thoughts. “I did not send this to her. In fact, I--”

Gavin turned towards the windshield and hesitated, suddenly squinting and reaching for his binoculars. He peered inside their eyepieces briefly before he watched the subject of interest look around and dart nervously behind the building.

“Gavin?”

“That was uh...fuckin', shit, what was her name?” he said, snapping his fingers angrily and starting the car with his other fumbling hand. “The chick at Emily's place. The secretary in the front.”

“Mula?”

“Yeah! Yeah...her, she just went to the warehouse entrance.” He jerked the car into reverse and wiggled from the parking lot, moving onto the street and sidling up against the warehouse building. He checked for his handcuffs and reached for his badge and gun, Nines' hand stopping his briefly.

“You're sure?”

“Yeah, positive. Why?”

“What purpose would she have here at the scene of a crime that still has not been solved?”

“The fuck should I know? That's why I'm here about to chase her down.”

“Gav--” but he was already gone, darting around the corner quickly and leaving Nines to follow suit.

**CURRENT OBJECTIVE: APPREHEND MULA.**

Gavin's footsteps were quiet despite the broken glass and chunks of concrete littered around the floor. The building was cold, the shattered windows and holes in the roof were the obvious culprits. He kept his hands free, ready to spring into action. After the events the last time he was here, he'd be lying if he wasn't expecting some fucking crazed android to bound around the corner with a broken bottle or a rock.

Despite being merely feet behind the woman, he didn't find a trace of her. Carefully navigating down a hallway, he peered around a corner into the largest mouth of the building, where the old arcade tables and plastic fold-up chairs and tables lay in scattered, crooked areas. To the right of him on the far end of the room, a curtain billowed from the stage, causing a few birds perched on the rafters to flee out a shattered window.

He felt the wind change behind him and didn't need to look to know it was Nines, absolutely silent despite being a massive hunk of metal.

“I don't see her,” Gavin whispered, eyes scanning the room. The sunlight from the holes and windows was enough to bring some light to the room but it wasn't enough to fully give him vision. “How about you? Any luck?”

“Yes,” Nines stated, LED cycling blue wildly as he scanned, “I caught a heat signature over by that section of the arcade tables where that android you apprehended last time was.”

Gavin glanced over but couldn't see the hallway, obscured by an arcade cabinet and the police cordon they set up days ago. He could already pin her ass for trespassing on a crime scene but he was more curious what she was doing here, herself. Emily's building was open, and she seemed to only have the one secretary. So why was Mula sneaking around?

“Shall I go get her?” Nines asked, eyes trained on the spot where he found the source.

“No, not yet. I want to see what the hell she's doing first.”

“As you wish.” Nines replied, body seemingly relaxing from a tensed position. Ready to go at the drop of a hat, a single command willing him forward. He was designed for the SWAT teams, after all, it only made sense he obeyed instructions—even if they were Reed's. Gavin moved from a crouched position to a sitting one to save his legs from cramping.

Eventually, there was the sound of shuffling to the far off corner and Mula emerged from behind the arcade's obstruction, looking down at the floor with what looked like a cellphone's front-facing light, illuminating the dingy ground. She was humming quietly, looking around and picking stuff up before putting it back down, dissatisfied. Nines squinted at the pieces she was picking up.

“It looks like she is investigating the crime scene herself.”

“That's illegal.”

“Very much so. However, it seems she cannot find what might be considered interesting for her.”

Gavin cocked his head, wishing he had better vision. Even with his contacts, it wasn't as if he could magically see in the dim darkness. He hated to rely on Nines' abilities, but without it, they'd be stuck here. Before he could stop him, Nines stood up straight, alerting Mula who dropped some small pieces of whatever she was holding and freezing in place, gently raising her hands and seemingly fighting with herself if it was a good decision.

Gavin, following suit, stood and stepped from behind the hallway's corner, frowning, “You do know you're trespassing on a crime scene and can be brought to jail, right?”

Mula hesitated, dropping her hands to instead play nervously with her fingers, “I didn't...I mean, I did know that...uhm...” She stuttered, looked away and down towards her feet at the pieces on the ground. “I just thought that maybe if I came to look, I could...help.”

“Help?” Nines inquired. She nodded softly, shuffling her feet.

“I...heard about what happened here and I thought maybe I could...help.”

“I dunno what you think you can help with, but unless you know what's making androids go crazy, you're of no use and still _trespassing_.” Gavin snorted, crossing his arms. He stepped over to where Mula was and crouched down, sifting through the debris before pausing. Tiny, black chunks of plastic and a small piece of what looked like a circuitry board. He waved it in front of her with an angry scowl.

“Do you know what the fuck this is?”

“I--”

“It's a part of a walkie-talkie. It's what's making the androids go nuts and we don't know why.”

“Gavin, please, making her uncomfortable will get us nowhere.” Nines interjected, stepping towards Mula himself and looking down at her. “If you have any information, it would be welcomed.”

“That's...what I came here about.” She fumbled in her pockets and returned with a small envelope, handing it to Gavin. “Ms. Liefyear wanted me to give this to you. I was going to put a stamp on it and mail it after this but...you found me.” she said softly, tucking back some black strands and looking at Nines.

“Emily wants to see you both at dinner this weekend. She may have found some information regarding your case. However, her schedule is full right now otherwise she'd see you sooner.”

“She can't just fuckin' call me?” Gavin asked, flipping the letter over and seeing immaculate gold-printed cursive on the backside, sure enough inviting them both to dinner.

“I'm sorry, that's not my place to know. And uhm...I-I'm sorry for...trespassing. I promise, I wasn't doing anything wrong, I just thought...maybe I could find something you didn't.”

“You're doubting a detective and a billion-dollar investment of an android?”

“No! No, that's not what I meant, I...” She frowned, chewed on her lip and brushed more hair back from her falling ponytail. “I'm good at finding things people miss. I thought maybe I could help.”

“Yeah, yeah, I heard you the first time,” Gavin pinched the bridge of his scarred nose and sighed, adjusting his footing by popping out a hip. “You wanna help? Tell Emily to get off her ass and start talking to her old colleagues or some shit. I got all I could out of Kamski so I'm going down the line. I don't have time to play fucking babysitter on a state's crime scene for some secretary's curiosity, ok? Go back to work or home or whatever and keep your nose clean.”

Mula blinked a few times, seemingly rousing herself from the conversation, and nodded. “I understand. I...I'll go relay your message to Ms. Liefyear. Uhm...” she paused, glanced down at her feet and then behind her back at the rows of broken down arcade cabinets. “Am I in trouble for this? Do I need to have a ticket or...whatever?”

“Normally, yes. But, I'm not really in the mood for this shit. I'll keep quiet about it unless I find out you've been tampering with the crime scene, got it?” Gavin asked.

“Yes, I do,” Mula replied, giving a little bit of a nervous bow. “I'll look into this myself, I have a lot of Emily's files on my computer. Maybe there's some names for you?”

“That would be appreciated,” Nines replied. Mula nodded, giving them a small wave and reminding Gavin about the dinner. Once the creak of the door echoed down the hallway, Gavin picked at the circuitry in his fingers with a frown.

“Why the fuck would a secretary give a damn about this?” he asked, giving the pieces below him another glance before tossing down the remnants of the circuit board.

“I am unsure, but at the very least, it appears she was telling the truth. She was nervous but her heart rate remained steady as she spoke.”

“So, what, she seriously wants to play junior detective?”

“I cannot believe so. There are humans who care for androids. If she believed she was of use, maybe she felt she truly was.”

Gavin snorted, kicking at the plastic and walking slowly around the room, searching one last time for anything that might be useful. “If she thinks finding some walkie-talkie scraps is helpful, then sure. I say let her go for it. The next time I find her kicking up dirt on my crime scene, I'm taking her in.”

Nines made a small sound, a huff of a laugh. “You say that as if she IS going to be found at another crime scene of yours.”

“Whatever,” Gavin grumbled, forcefully jamming his fists into his coat pockets, “Let's just get out of here, this place creeps me out.”

“I thought you enjoyed video games?”

“I do, I just—I dunno, this place is...creepy.” Gavin repeated, taking a final glance backwards into the large room before his vision was swallowed by the edges of the hallway.

 

 

 

The rest of the week flew by in a rush, seemingly as if Gavin's every tap of his agitated legs made the clock go faster. At work, he couldn't concentrate, more and more cases of androids turning suddenly violent were popping up and even some of the public started coming forward as witnesses, asking what the DPD was doing to make people feel safe. It was the biggest shitshow since the revolution except this time, androids were coming forward with their concerns.

Some even requested to be locked up before they 'could do anything bad'. Others reached critical stress levels and had to be manually shutdown to reboot into a safer environment. Hank and Connor stopped appearing at their desks, constantly running around the bullpen or out on cases. Nines opted to stay behind and help with the mounting paperwork situation, filing reports as quick as inhumanely possible but also somehow falling behind.

Gavin would be lying if he said he wasn't feeling the impending doom.

Tonight at eight P.M. He'd be at Emily's building once more, a private dinner to discuss things. This time, she seemed ok with Nines coming along, even asking what type of thirium wine he'd prefer to drink, to 'feel like he wasn't excluded'. It was suspicious. But without any other leads and Emily offering to feed them, both literally and with information, there was nothing he could do but agree.

Once work got out, he quickly showered, dressed as nicely as he could, a simple long-sleeved shirt and some slacks with dress shoes, Nines opting to remain in his uniform, and they both headed towards Emily's building. Inside, they were ushered to a new floor, this time by a young man with reddish hair and a face full of freckles. He was in a simple blazer and slacks, both a simple navy color. Unlike Mula, the man chattered endlessly, thanking the two men for their service and asking about Nines' personal life, which the android said little about. It did nothing to assuage the man's chattering, but it was enough to calm Gavin's nerves. Dinner with another millionaire.

Unlike with his brother, he wasn't related to Emily. This wasn't a party to shmooze around at, it was strictly business and one he, himself, was personally invited to. He wondered how his brother did it; Elijah was a known introvert and hated social interactions with the general public. He couldn't imagine how it felt to have a spotlight following him in the form of every pair of eyes in the vicinity. He wondered if this was what Elijah felt during every business meeting, every party he was forced to attend. Elijah often couldn't bring his Chloe; Gavin was suddenly thankful for Nines' imposing figure beside him.

Nines must have sensed this because he gently raised his hand and grazed Gavin's own, giving it a small squeeze before releasing.

“--and that's pretty much how I got this job. I didn't think I was qualified, but Ms. Liefyear was nice enough to—oh! We're here. Well, uhm, I'm Davis, I hope to see you two later and enjoy your dinner!” the ginger-headed man spoke, giving them an awkward little wave before turning on his heel and jogging lightly down the hall.

Gavin inhaled and sighed deeply through his nose. Nines adjusted his dress shirt's collar, its usual fit snug to his throat.

“Shall we?” Nines asked, ushering with a hand towards the door. Gavin scratched at his sleeves and replied with an unconvincing nod. He knocked on the door and waited. Behind it was hushed speaking that quickly stopped, the sound of footsteps walking to the door quickly before it opened. Again, Emily stood before them, smiling, her usual dress shirt replaced with what seemed to be a Henley in a crimson color with a black pencil skirt and red heels. Her hair was tossed up in a tight bun, some strands managed to fall down it and rest along her shoulders.

“Detective, RK900, it's good to see you both. Come on in, we have some things to talk about.”

Gavin stepped in first, Emily waving towards two seats with the table set in front of them. Fancy china and the good silverware, forks and spoons in various sizes. The room was wide and circular, it looked like her office except more cozy. The blinds on the windows were closed and the main source of light was a crackling fireplace behind where Emily was presumably going to sit. There were candles on the table and off to the side on the wall were small sconces, covered by plastic, ornate covers. From their light, Gavin caught sight of red wallpaper with gold-colored patterns and swirls.

He sat down at the table and scooted it in. Nines took suit next to him, sitting as inhumanely stiff and rigid as usual, hands clasped on top of the table. Emily made it to her side of the table and retrieved a wine bottle from what sounded like some ice beside her seat.

“Apologies, I couldn't get anything more expensive,” she said, pouring a generous amount into her glass and then a little less into Gavin's. She put the bottle back, returning with another one in black glass, filling it into a glass for Nines. Unlike Gavin's red wine, Nines was somewhat purple-black. He could smell the tang of it, an almost acrid flavor in the air like printer ink. Nines swirled it around, presumably scanning it, before taking a sip.

“Thank you,” he said, swallowing and licking his lips delicately. Emily just smiled.

“Not a problem. Thirium wine isn't very common yet, but I hope it's to your liking. You're welcome to bring it home, I don't have a use for it.” Her nails drummed along the table and she tucked some honey strands back behind her ears.

“I know you're wondering why I brought you here, but I thought your investigation was lacking. I did some snooping and found some things you might find interesting.”

“Like what?” Gavin asked, peering up from his own wine glass. He personally hated the stuff but he would humor her by taking a sip and doing his best not to wrinkle his nose. Yep, rotten grapes. What a shocker.

“Well, I'm sure that can wait until after dinner.” she replied coolly, resting a hand under her chin and looking right at Gavin. “But first, I was wondering something, if you wouldn't mind my asking. The RK800 that made it out of the prototype stage seems to still be employed by the DPD, is that correct?”

“That's confidential,” he replied, eyes narrowed. Emily simply laughed, a tiny little sound.

“Not really. I saw him on the news during the revolution. He was standing on the stage behind the AX400 and the RK200. But, that's fine. It's actually pretty sweet that you're defending him, considering...”

“Considering what?” he asked, feeling his stomach sink. Beside him, he caught sight of Nines glancing over quickly, eyes darting to the edge of his vision.

“Well, it's no surprise, Mr. Reed, that you used to be in a few anti-android clubs. And it's also no surprise that while the RK800 was on his “mission”, all information was relayed back to Cyberlife headquarters.”

“So what?” he asked, sitting up straighter.

“So...I truly wonder what you thought would happen trying to fight a state-of-the-art android is all.” There was laughter in her voice, sick curiosity. She saw everything. Gavin's impulsive acting on instinctual rage and fear that his job was taken, just like that. Eight years of school and fighting to prove himself for the detective title and an android a few months old already given the title—his position.

“Forgive my rudeness, Ms. Liefyear, but Gavin has changed since then, as it should be obvious, considering I am his assigned work partner.” Nines interjected. Gavin bit down on his tongue. Nines was deflecting the conversation, keeping Gavin's humiliation in check. He also managed to conveniently forget the part where they were romantic partners, but perhaps that was something better left unsaid.

Emily nodded, taking a sip of her wine and running a fingertip along the rim, red nails glaring against the red liquid like some vampire ready for her meal. “It's quite alright, Mr. Reed, you're hardly the first person that felt threatened by androids and certainly aren't the last. These constant android attacks are truly...difficult to watch happen.”

“What do you mean?” Gavin asked. Emily frowned, turning to face behind herself and reaching for a remote. Pressing a button, she turned it on, a hologram television behind her head. On it was a news reporter speaking, a video playing in the back. An android was walking, a male with dark hair, before suddenly buckling to their knees. A human, seeing it happen, ran over to ask what was wrong before the android swung out, angrily swinging fists and battering the human shielding themselves poorly with an arm. Blood was spraying the concrete, the human trying to get up and run but the android was quicker, grabbing the human by the arm and yanking them back.

Beside him, Nines sunk in his chair. Gavin watched as two police came forward and aimed a gun at the android, the metallic humanoid seemingly yelling something before breaking its own arm. A police officer fired a warning shot beside the android, the android uncaring and continuing to break its arm until it hung limply by a few wires. The android pulled, thirium pouring from the shattered wires and cords, brandishing it like a weapon and swinging at the nearest cop who buckled, the side of their head instantly erupting in a mixture of red and blue.

The second cop fired, aiming right at the android's head, sending the android into a grotesque sprawl on the ground. The android kicked out pitifully, still trying to move. The cop that had fired was instantly at its partner's side trying to staunch the bleeding. Gavin saw their uniform wrinkle, presumably pulling for the walkie-talkie to request backup. The android was crawling, dragging its torn arm before it shuddered and stopped moving, LED turning white before dimming to black. It was similar to Nines' stasis, but where Nines' light turned back on, this android's didn't. Dead.

The news clip ended, the newscaster talking about the incident and warning people to 'keep a close eye on their android'.

“More and more are cropping up and they're getting filmed.” Emily explained, frowning. “The general public is going into a panic and it's only a matter of time before Cyberlife is questioned.”

Gavin hesitated. “But...Cyberlife is owned by androids now.”

“That's the rub,” she replied. “People are assuming the androids that run the place, the ones that started the revolution, are going back on their peaceful ways and...”taking the world by force' or something idiotic.” She downed another large gulp of wine, fingers back to drumming along the wood top of the table. “Not exactly something that's the truth but people are afraid and still are after the revolution. They're going to grasp at straws. Especially considering the revolution was peaceful and androids still only have a handful of laws? Of course humans would assume the worst and think androids have become bitter.”

Gavin looked over at Nines who was staring at the TV screen with a blank expression. His mouth was partly open, eyes moving back and forth, watching the android replay behind Emily's head. Gavin didn't need to see his temple to know it was red; he was struggling to come to terms with what he was seeing.

“Nines, are you okay?” he asked quietly. The android blinked back to life, frowning.

“I...need to be excused. Is there a bathroom nearby?” he asked. Emily nodded.

“Downstairs a single floor, furthest door on the right. There's a sign.”

“Thank you,” he managed before quickly standing and rushing out of the room. Gavin watched him, unable to call after him as the door swung back open and a woman wheeling a cart in pushed past the doors.

“Sorry for the delays, there was an issue in the kitchen,” the woman said, setting the trays onto the table's large coasters.

“No worries, dear, thank you for coming in on such short notice.”

“No trouble at all, Emily.” the woman replied with a smile, sliding Gavin's tray over towards him. Beneath the silver cover, he could smell meat, a well-seasoned, medium-rare steak. He felt guilty for his stomach growling when Nines was currently having a crisis.

“He'll be ok,” Emily said, reading his thoughts, “It's a lot to take in.” She took no time in opening her tray and cutting her meal, the woman leaving the room in a rush of feet and the cart's gently squeaking wheel. Gavin looked down at his own, nudging aside some sprig of seasoning. It smelled fantastic. Emily was watching him, a piece speared on her fork.

“It's not poisoned,” she chuckled. “Go ahead, you're a guest.”

Gavin looked back down at his reflection in the sauce and saw his conflicted face.

“Oh...oh, I didn't know...are you vegetarian? I can get you a replacement meal made if you'll wait a little bit.”

“No, it's not....that. Sorry, I'm just worried.” he managed, taking a piece of meat and eating it quickly. It was delicious, as expected, juicy and hot and the perfect softness and pink in the center. Emily gave a little nod, swallowing her own bite.

“It's to be expected. He'll be back before you know it.”

 

 

 

In the bathroom, Nines was splashing water on his face, his sensors reading the water's temperature to be much too cold, sitting at a pretty 34F/1C, cold enough to sting his body and refresh his mind. He wondered if they could hear it, the high-pitched scream of anguish in the android as it tore of its own arm. There was some pain to a self-amputation, not in the way a human would feel it. Nines has been injured before, a flash of red as his sensors directed the thirium flow elsewhere, warned him of the damage he sustained.

He couldn't imagine what was going on in the android's mind as he watched it tear its own limb off as a weapon. In self-defense, Nines could do some terrible things if he wanted. Limb removal was something at the bottom of the list, a final resort. The android on the news took it as the first logical leap. That wasn't right. That was borderline psychotic.

He understood Emily wanted to show them what was being dealt with on the news, but it seemed almost if she wanted him to be uncomfortable. Almost as if she wanted Gavin alone without outright asking for it. Half of Nines wanted to run back, to protect his partner, but the other half was too rattled by what he saw. The sound the android emitted through the TV sent his very teeth on edge and every nerve burned. An EMP. A desperate screech. A _battlecry_. A feral roar of a machine, terrified and angry all at once, in pain and afraid.

He wasn't designed to feel remorse, wasn't designed to fathom what was going on in another android's mind. Once his original objective to eliminate deviants had been overridden, he felt nothing for the androids living their daily lives. Feigned sympathy in interrogations, fake concern for a terrified android. He was meant to be devoid of any familiar feelings of sympathy, of anything remotely close to empathy. A machine that was riddled with answered questions, all take and no give.

So why then did he feel scared?

He didn't need to look into his reflection to feel the heat of his LED, spinning wildly. Didn't need to know it was no longer the impassive blue it usually was.

He felt raw terror. A pang of anguish when the cords finally gave way, tearing and spilling their lifeblood to the concrete, to dry up and vanish and be forgotten just like the dead android with a bullet in its brain. The officer's injury wasn't too damaging; from the footage, a concussion and a lump was the worst of it, some stitches being the worst case scenario. The humans, fragile as they were, could walk free. Could go home and live another day. The android would be sent to the scrap heap, to rot and decay and feed the earth with its failure of sustenance.

Nines was angry.

Why would humans get to walk free when the android was currently in duress? They were suddenly going deviant, becoming violent, and yet they were the ones being found in ditches, humans crying and expressing their fear on television, in the police station, report after report after report...

He didn't realize he was clenching his jaw until he heard a small crack, his teeth setting themselves on edge. A quick blurb in the corner of his vision set his sensors on fire: he was scanning himself. It wasn't until he tasted the familiar tang of thirium did he realize he had cut open his own tongue. He focused his nanites on the spot, the tingle of healing working instantly to fix the pseudo-organ.

“Compose yourself,” he willed himself quietly. Another quick splash of water to rid himself of negative thoughts and he headed back to the dinner.

 

 

Halfway through her steak, Emily placed her fork and knife down with a small clink of the plate, wiping her lips and careful not to smudge her lipstick.

“Steak was larger than I expected, forgive me for leaving any. I'll have someone wrap it up for later,” she said, swishing it down with another small swig of wine before clasping her fingers together, watching Gavin for a long while. “How did you come to be partnered with the RK900?”  
“Dunno,” he replied, setting down his own silverware, “I came into work and was told he would be my new work partner and that was pretty much it. I didn't get anything else told to me.”

“He was just given to the DPD from the FBI?”

“I think so. After the revolution, I guess he was still in the tower and was woken up or something. He doesn't remember much except for waking up quickly and then he was just...at the DPD. You said he was meant for the FBI but I think the DPD was a trial run.”

“It's possible,” she said, “His schematics were some of the most advanced Cyberlife had ever made. Replacing his thirium pump alone will cost a good couple million dollars. He's made of some seriously strong stuff. Designated soldier work or not, he's resilient.”

Nines stepped to the door and stopped, his cat-like footfall all but silent on the carpet beneath him. The sturdy wood didn't even give him away. He pressed his ear gently to the door, the conversation filtering in though muffled.

“It was something we tried to do with the RK models as I said. Make them as sturdy as possible. The RK series was going to be the world's foray into soldiers. The government was tired of sending regular old people to battle; why waste human lives when androids are there?”

Nines clenched his fists tightly to his side.

“But, of course, the revolution happened and the RK series wasn't finalized and wars were just pointless. Let people fight them on their own turf with their own people. But that didn't stop the RK series from being made. I believe the last hand I had in it was the 500 but people didn't like a soldier being female,” she scoffed. “The design was ditched, the 600 was brought back to being male. It was intended to be able to adapt, a whole manner of things were being designed at that time. Flame-retardant, able to withstand the pressure of the ocean, even able to interchange its schematics on the fly to adapt.”

“What does that mean?”

“Whatever it needed, it could just...'do' after learning. Downloading what makes night-vision possible would give it night-vision, uhm—damaging a part such as an eye or finger would make it able to replace it with a part that's not of its proper model replacement and make it its own.”

Nines looked back to the schematics of Markus, the way he had two colored eyes, one originally not for him. Was this a remnant?

“They even tried to give the RK series cloaking.” she laughed lightly. “Impossible for the time, even now. But it was a pipe dream. Instead, they ended up simply catering to what was needed at the time. A forensics lab in the mouth was something that was idiotic for the time being, as was preconstruction software.”

“The hell's that?” Gavin asked, leaning forward on the table.

“Hmm. Basically, it's like...future sigh for a combat android. Just glancing at somebody in motion and they can see the outcome of them retaliating. Very useful. Even in the RK100 it was standard though it came with some bugs, as they often do. Kamski considered it a failure, deemed it unnecessary.”

“Why would he call it that?”

“My guess is it was something that made the androids seem too...violent. Not able to be apprehended if a stronger model went deviant. Can't exactly handcuff an android who can deflect your every move.”

Nines heard the pop of a cork, Emily pouring herself and Gavin more wine.

“The RK series was my pride and joy,” she said quietly, “I did everything I could to dedicate myself to that project but it was never good enough. I'd waste months on code just for them to tell me it wasn't good enough, wasn't what they _wanted_. I spent years on that damn project and for what?” she laughed, a bitter, mirthless sound. “All for them to take my resume and pack it in with a cardboard box stuffed with my desk's belongings. Every single line of code I wrote was deleted, written over with Kamski's own, his entire code being what was given praise, what was greenlit. Simple edits to my own life's work all for him to swoop down like a _vulture_ and take the credit.”

Biting his cheek, Gavin curled his toes tightly and felt the pain from his shoes squeezing down. Kamski wasn't like that, wouldn't take someone else's credit when he busted his ass nightly, working off of three hours a sleep on many nights, working tirelessly and falling asleep at his desk trying to get shit to work. He was only 16 then, and he doubted shit had changed since. He was a dedicated worker, always was, when his mind was put to it, he'd work the midnight oil down to its last fumes.

“All that for even _him_ to leave the company. I guess taking the billions of dollars was enough for him. Wonder what that's like, to retire at 21.” she chuffed. “I'm not bitter. I just hate working harder than any man ever could and _still_ being shoved aside. People are trying to take this company from me, too. If Amanda was alive, she'd have a fit.”

“I've talked your ear off enough,” Emily stated, taking another sip of her wine, walking around the desk to get something from a small bag in the corner and handing it to Gavin. “This is a list of names of other people who worked for Cyberlife. Some are incarcerated, others are still working there under wraps. I also included the RK900 schematics, just in case. You never know when things might not work right or you need a troubleshoot,” she said. “Speaking of, I haven't seen your android in a while, is he alright?”

Nines pushed the doors open, looking as impassive as he could. He stiffened visibly and righted himself, propping his arms behind his back. “Forgive me, I was not feeling well. It seems to have passed. Apologies for demeaning your dinner, Ms. Liefyear, it was not my intention at all.”

“You're fine, you're fine,” she waved him off, stumbling slightly as she walked over, the wine clearly working through her systems. “Anyways, sorry to shoo you off, I just told your partner I was retiring for the night. You get him home safely, he's had a bit to drink, okay?”

Nines glanced over at her glass, having been refilled three times, to Gavin's barely been touched. “Of course, Ms. Liefyear, Gavin will be returned home safely.” he promised.

She nodded a few times, blinking past them both before nodding a final time and using the table for balance. “I'll call you if I find anything else useful, but for now, I'm sorry you came here for nothing. I appreciate the company, Mr. Reed and Mr. RK. You both have a good weekend. I know I will. Aren't Mondays exciting?” she murmured, turning her attention towards the spot where the Tv once was, hologram to the wall.

Nines nodded, taking Gavin by the arm and pulling him into the hallway and down the first floor of stairs, below the view of a security camera before gently holding him against the wall.

“Nines, you okay? What happ--”

Nines' lips crushed against Gavin's own, a hand winding behind Gavin's neck to hold him in close. Gavin's hands fisted at the white jacket, leaning on his tippy toes to get closer to the android before he pulled away with a drunken huff.

“Nines, what the hell?” he asked. Nines glanced around and then down sheepishly.

“I...may have heard what she said, about me. About your brother. I want you to know that I was affected by what I saw on the news and will dedicate every waking hour to solving this case. I will refuse stasis until it can be solved and I know you want it finished as soon as I do.”

“...that didn't answer my question, Nines.” Gavin asked, eyes narrowing.

“We can continue this at home, I would appreciate some privacy.” he replied.

“Yeah...yeah, okay,” Gavin replied, following his android down the rest of the stairs.

 

 

Gavin's car pulled up to his house and he barely got out of the driver's side door before Nines was on him, pulling him into another feverish kiss until they both backed up to the door. Gavin fumbled for his keys, nearly dropping them to the concrete before Nines deftly caught them, twisting them into the lock and making them both stumble inside.

Gavin bent down to remove his shoes and Nines moved to remove his jacket, tossing it sloppily on the couch where it slumped to the ground, his own jacket making it across the headrest cushions. He turned on Gavin in an instant, hungry hands working their way under his shirt to squeeze and press along Gavin's hardening nipples, toying with the piercings there, fingers rolling across the bright blue balls that capped the metallic bar. Gavin whimpered into his mouth, breaking the kiss to breathe sharply.

“Fuck, sweetheart,” he whispered against those soft lips, “You really know how to treat a man to dessert,” he teased, nipping with sharp fangs at Nines' kiss-swollen lips. Nines took the papers from Gavin and slipped them on the coffee table.

“Yeah?” Nines replied, “Maybe I just like helping kittens in distress.” He gave Gavin a lopsided smirk and nipped at the meat of Gavin's neck, making him groan and tilt his head back.

“Lemme go to the bathroom real quick and we can finish this, yeah?” Gavin replied, running his fingers into Nines' thick hair. Nines groaned in reluctance but let Gavin go after a firm squeeze to a hard ass cheek. Nines padded to the bedroom and sat down on the bed, undoing his own shirt buttons carefully and then undoing his pants, chucking his socks to the ground.

He only had time to tug down his zipper before Gavin stalked into the bedroom, strong blush cresting across his cheeks, pupils wide and hungry. Nines just pat his thighs, letting the man straddle them and bring him down to the bedspread. It took only a quick glance before both men were entangled, kissing feverishly and making a mess of sounds, sloppy and wet.

Nines' hands ran down Gavin's back, fingernails scratching along the muscles of his back, making Gavin positively groan.

“Baby, don't tease.”

“I thought you enjoyed back scratches?”

“I do,” Gavin replied, tilting his head and letting some of his bangs fall loose onto his forehead, “But I prefer them to be a bit more...instinctual.”

“I see...”

Nines rolled, taking Gavin with him, the smaller male beneath. Gavin lifted his arms up to the pillow, watching Nines work down his stomach, his tongue trailing down to the soft hairs along his navel and lower, stopping just at the waist of his boxer briefs. Gavin looked down expectantly, but simply watched Nines return upwards, taking his left nipple into his mouth and sucking gently, holding the piercing between his sharp teeth, kneading his other pec between his strong palm.

Gavin was panting, his eyes sliding shut. Nines smiled against the piercing and quickly looped to the other one, hand and mouth trading places, making quick work of Gavin's heaving chest before Nines placed tiny kisses between the pecs, trailing gently upwards. Nines nibbled and sucked along Gavin's sternum, his collarbones, pressing a deep kiss to the V of his neck.

“I love you,” Nines whispered. Gavin laughed quietly, cracking one eye open.

“I love you too, plastic fuck.” he playfully ruffled Nines' hair, much to his annoyance, but the android simply continued his barrage, kissing the sides of Gavin's thick neck before sucking gently at a birthmark. Nines lapped delicately before sucking down hard, making Gavin's hips wriggle along the bed and his hands ball into fists.

“That's good, sweetheart,” he whispered. Nines hummed, working the skin into a beautiful purple-blue bruise, tiny blossoms of red forming in the center.

“Two?” Nines asked. Gavin shrugged before nodding. Two it was. Nines turned his neck the other way, making a hickey along the other side. Gavin had gotten good at concealing the little marks with some makeup and Nines would be lying if he said he hated leaving pretty little marks on his human.

Gavin opened his eyes when Nines pulled back, glancing up at the massive, muscled android, placing the fingertips of his right hand against the android's thirium pump. Gavin said nothing, just rubbed his fingertips along the circular shape jutting from Nines' chest and giving him a small smile.

“Thanks for being you.” Gavin said softly. A car driving by illuminated the room briefly in yellow, the shadows dancing in a wide spectrum across the walls. Nines nodded, closing his eyes, reaching forward to press his palm against Gavin's cheek.

Gavin screamed. A horrible, gurgling mess of a noise. Beneath Nines, Gavin was kicking, his feet scrabbling against the sheets, his traction compromised. He was struggling, fighting, instinctively pressing a free knee to Nines' groin. Nines cocked his head. What was wrong? He had done everything perfectly.

Gavin was clutching at Nines desperately, trying to force the android off of him. He was thrashing madly, face turning red, eyes wide and tears streaming down the sides.

“Gavin, what has gotten into you?” he asked.

Gavin thrashed harder from the metallic screech of a sound assaulting his senses. Above him, Nines was staring glassy-eyed, vision focused on Gavin. Those beautiful, enamoring blue eyes were smoldering, slicing through the dark in a predatory glow. Nines' mouth was open slightly, a static-filled screech echoing deeply along the walls in the room.

His hands were locked firmly to Gavin's throat, tight like a vice. Gavin's vision was swimming, a mess of black and white stars exploding. The pressure behind his eyes was getting worse. On his temple, he could feel his own pulse slamming, echoing his heart hammering against his ribs. He was going to die here at the hand of his very android lover.

“Sssss..!” he managed, his thrashing was making him tired, everything in him was screaming for air. To get a mouthful and to heave, to let the cold rush fill his lungs. The cop in him was struggling. He knew not to thrash, but when the pressure was too precise, too analytically dark, he was panicking. Nines was fucking _killing_ him and didn't seem to be responding. The LED was blue, a quick pulse of red as if it were glitching.

“St...op...” Gavin choked out. He felt a fresh cascade of spit down the side of his face, his throat unable to swallow anything. Nines' fingers dug in deeper. Gavin's eyes rolled back, his movements growing faint. He couldn't see anything anymore. His vision was practically black, awash in waves of greys and whites before sliding back to black. His heart was growing soft, unable to keep up with the damage.

Just like that, the fingers retreated, a stunned gasp from Nines and a loud bang, muffled by Gavin's deafened ears. He sucked in a hard breath and immediately choked, instinctively sheltering his bruised throat with a hand and curling his body into a defensive ball. Nines was sitting on the floor. His hands were up, fingers splayed, wide eyes looking at them as they trembled. His LED was circling red wildly, lips quivering and open in a stunned gasp that never came.

Gavin tried to speak but simply coughed and choked, his throat too fucked to work properly. His body was screaming with relief from the oxygen but the pain of each breath was too much to bear. He collapsed onto the bed, tears streaming down his cheeks though he didn't feel like he was crying.

He had almost died.

“I...” he heard Nines speak, still staring at his hands in disbelief. “I...I didn't mean to...”

Gavin replied in kind with an abused squawk. The noise elicited another gag and choke, a stream of drool down his lips.

“Gavin, I...”

“Go...” Gavin managed, still rubbing his sore neck. His fingers pressed into a hickey and he winced with his entire body, squeezing his damp eyes shut.

“Go...? Go where?” Nines asked softly, looking at Gavin with wide eyes. “I don't want to go.”

“Le...leave.” Gavin rasped, his deep voice all the more raspy and strangled. He grabbed a pillow and crushed it to his chest instinctively, a scared child shielding himself from his worst fears.

“Don't make me leave...p-please, I-I don't know what...I didn't mean to--”

“ _Leave_!” Gavin managed again, throwing the pillow at Nines and jamming his fingers into his hair, curling into a ball. Nines said nothing for a long while before silently getting up and grabbing his clothes. Gavin didn't move until he heard the front door open and shut before breaking down. What the fuck was that? One second he was having the time of his life, the next his android locked up, eyes looking towards his before the LED circled red, fingers locking around his throat.

Gavin had seen that look only once: shortly after Gavin had been shot. The predatory gaze a rabbit might see when staring down a wolf. Had Gavin done something wrong? Was it his fingers on the thirium pump that caused that to happen? He wasn't sure. He slowly made it to the bathroom and gulped down a few handfuls of water to ease his sore throat though it did little to help. He glanced at himself in the mirror and his stomach sank.

His eyes were purple, swollen red from crying. Beneath his hickeys was a dark reddish-purple blossom in almost perfect finger-like markings. The colors were only grow angrier within the next few hours. He'd need to go to the hospital to make sure his windpipe wasn't damaged but he was afraid to leave the house.

Looking at his phone, his fingers hovered over Elijah's name before he paused, scrolling down to Hank's number and then, finally, Tina's.

He dialed, letting it ring a few times before she picked up, voice groggy from sleep interrupted.

“Sup, fuckface, it's 3 in the morning?”

“Tina,” he managed. Instantly, Tina's playful nature died and he could practically hear her sit up straight on the other end.

“Fuck, Gavin, you okay?! You sound like you're in a dumpster.”

“Can you...take me to the hospital?”

“Right now?” A pause. “Yeah, lemme just get dressed. Where's Nines? Is he okay?”

“Just...come get me.” Gavin rasped. He took a shaking breath. “And uhm...can you bring...your makeup?”

“My...?” Some more rustling, presumably Tina throwing on some pants. “Yeah, yeah, I got you. Should I bring Sponge?”

“No, just...” He coughed, the cough growing painful and turning into a gag of a choke. He swallowed a few times and adjusted. “Just come get me. Please.”

“Okay. Gimme ten minutes, I'll be right there.” she said, hanging up. Gavin put on some clothes and sat on the couch, reaching for his shirt and sliding on his shoes. Looking down made the back of his eyes hurt. He shut his eyes and sat up straight, counting down the minutes until he heard a familiar horn outside, a courtesy honk.

Biting the bullet, he stepped outside and clambered into Tina's car, immediately hearing her gasp and cover her hands with her mouth.

“Gavin, what the fuck happened!?' she asked, delicately placing the tip of a finger along the strangulation mark and the hickey underneath.

“I don't know,” he whispered, grabbing her water bottle from the cup holder and downing half of it. She said nothing, just watched with a face dowsed in concern. He coughed a few times again, wiped the edges of his mouth.

“Who did this?” she asked quietly. Gavin opened his mouth to respond but all he managed was a hiccup, the tears streaming down his face again. Tina's mouth fell open but she said nothing, just unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned forward to hug Gavin. They said nothing for a long while, just letting him sob with a broken voice for a while. He recovered enough for her to start her car and back out of his driveway, buckling herself back in and driving towards the nearest hospital. Gavin closed his eyes and rested his forehead on the cold glass.

Beneath his eyelids, a blue light turned red.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all!
> 
> I just wanted to thank everybody for being patient. I've been battling with feelings of inadequacy and depression for quite some time and haven't really had it in me to write; admittedly, even this chapter feels awful, but, it's progress nonetheless. I was pretty close to just dropping all of my fanfics but I think that'd make a lot of people upset. I really don't think writing is for me but I'll keep trucking along. Maybe I can finish one story.
> 
> Anyways, I'm Foxflannel on Tumblr and Twitter, come say hi!


End file.
